Over the past few months, NCP chief Ajit Pawar (left) and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar have been seen together in several events together.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Nearly two-and-a-half years after the acrimonious split, the NCP and NCP (SP) have come together politically albeit only for contesting the municipal corporation elections in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the sister city of Pune.
However, a similar attempt for Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra, had failed.
Over the past few months, NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar and his nephew and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is now the NCP president, have been seen together in several public events and family functions.
The Sunday evening announcement for tie-up in the run up to the elections to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) was made by Ajit Pawar hours after he shared dais with his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar in their hometurf of Baramati at a function of Vidya Pratisthan during which the family felicitated eminent businessman and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani.
"For the sake of the Pimpri-Chinchwad, the 'ghadyal' ( the clock symbol of NCP)and the 'tutari' (the trumpet symbol of NCP (SP)) have united. The 'parivar' (family) has come together as many wanted,” said Ajit Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of the Pune district.
About the speculation of the two factions coming together, Ajit Pawar said there had been several questions in people’s minds about the future course of action.
“There were many questions in people’s minds about what would happen. Many times, certain decisions have to be taken in the interest of Maharashtra’s development," he said, underlining that the alliance was driven by broader considerations rather than past differences,” he said.
Ajit Pawar walked out of his uncle Sharad Pawar's fold in June-July 2023 and switched over from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi to the BJP-led Maha Yuti.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, the NCP and NCP (SP) contested against each other.