Ajit Pawar on NCP’s Breakaway from Mahayuti for Local Body Polls, Says ‘We Have Always Fought Against Each Other, Nothing Different Here’

Ahead of civic polls Nationalist Congress Party Chief, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar commented on party contesting the polls separately from the Mahayuti alliance.  Parties have decided to fight in such a way to "empower and support" their respective workers. According to Pawar, allying with Sharad Pawar's NCP faction for the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad election could lead to the vote share being consolidated, which would itself help them. He highlighted that the NCP and Congress allied for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections but contested local body elections separately, a situation mirrored by the BJP and Shiv Sena. Pawar told told ANI, "Since I've been in politics, in all the elections we've fought since 1999, we had an alliance with the Congress. We were working together in the Lok Sabha, in Parliament, and fighting elections together. We were fighting on our respective symbols. The same thing happened in the Assembly elections. But in local body elections, to support and empower our respective party workers, we always fought against each other."

"The same thing happened with the BJP and Shiv Sena. In the last 2017 elections in Mumbai and Thane; they were fighting against each other. So, there's no need to think that something very different is happening here," he added.
However, Pawar has also affirmed that the three parties contesting separately, BJP, NCP, and Shiv, against each other in local body polls have affirmed that the local body polls will not impact the functioning of the Mahrashtra state government, even after results are declared on January 16.

Pawar welcomed the reunion of estranged family members, including the Thackerays in Mumbai and the Pawars in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, for the local elections. He attributed the decision to contest together to party workers' demands, expressing hope that it would consolidate their vote bases. "I see it in a good light, this is very good. It is because of the karyakartas we had decided to fight elections together (the two NCP factions), because if we fight elections separately then the votes will be divided, that will not happen. The karyakartas want win elections, we fought the state and Lok Sabha elections. After they had a proposal, our party's leaders sat together, at first no common ground was reached," he said.

Pawar stated that the alliance suffered from previous setbacks and the spread of fake news. He refuted claims that Ajit Pawar insisted on using the clock symbol, clarifying he never made such a demand. He pointed out that Congress, BJP, and Shiv Sena all used their own symbols when contesting elections independently. Pawar also noted that Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena initially didn't approach him for an alliance, and by the time they did, nomination forms were already submitted.

Ajit Pawar stated that alliance talks began after workers from both factions suggested it. He added that they initially sought an alliance with Shiv Sena, but it didn't materialize in time. When questioned about the NCP-NCP alliance's future, Pawar said they haven't considered it, focusing instead on ensuring proper voting in the upcoming election on January 15. He emphasized that a long-term alliance decision requires consulting leaders from both sides, not just workers. The polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, is scheduled for January 15. The vote counting will take place on January 16.