Ajit Pawar Faction Faces Turmoil in Maharashtra; MLA Prakash Solanke Announces Political Retirement

After the Lok Sabha elections, unrest has been brewing among the legislators who joined Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP. While some are meeting with Sharad Pawar, others are waiting for their opportunity to join Sharad Pawar's camp. With the assembly elections expected to be announced in the next month and a half, Ajit Pawar's faction has faced a significant setback.

Majalgaon MLA Prakash Solanke has announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming assembly elections. This announcement came even as he was holding meetings across villages to prepare for the elections. Solanke has declared his political retirement and revealed his successor—his nephew, Jaysing Solanke. Jaysing is the son of Solanke’s younger brother, Dhairysheel Solanke, and has served as the Vice-Chairman of Dharur Panchayat Samiti and a member of Beed Zilla Parishad. Political circles are now watching to see if Ajit Pawar will endorse him.

In 2019, after being elected for the fourth time, Solanke anticipated a ministerial position. However, he was not appointed to any ministerial role in either the Thackeray or Shinde governments. Frustrated by the lack of a ministerial post, he was on the verge of resigning his MLA seat from the Thackeray government. At that time, Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil had promised him the role of party working president, with the state president position to follow a year later. Despite these promises, Solanke never received these roles, leading to his discontent. Now, with his retirement announcement, speculation is rife about whether Solanke is using this as a pressure tactic against the NCP