NCP at difficult crossroads after Ajit Pawar's demise, wife Sunetra in spotlight

Mumbai: The sudden demise of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in his hometown of Baramati has left Maharashtra facing its most difficult political question: What next?

For both factions—the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)—the moment has emerged as one of the toughest challenges since the split of June–July 2023.

The answer, many believe, now lies with Sharad Pawar.

Founder of the NCP in 1999 after his expulsion from the Congress for raising the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, Sharad Pawar—popularly known as Saheb—has already indicated his intent to retire from electoral politics after his Rajya Sabha term ends in April 2026.

Ahead of his 85th birthday on December 12, 2025, Sharad Pawar said at a public event in Baramati: “I am not in power now. I am in the Rajya Sabha and one-and-a-half years are left. I will have to decide whether to go to the Rajya Sabha again. I will not contest the Lok Sabha, nor will I contest any election, as I have announced earlier. I have already contested 14 elections. How many times should I contest? The younger generation needs to be given an opportunity.”

Often described as the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics, Sharad Pawar also spoke about his gradual withdrawal from active politics: “For the first 30 years, I was there. For the next 25 to 30 years, Ajit Dada handled all responsibilities. Now, arrangements have to be made for new leadership.”

However, with Ajit Pawar no longer around—particularly at a time when he was working towards a merger between NCP and NCP (SP)—the political landscape has dramatically altered.

“After the June–July 2023 developments and the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, everything changed within the family and the party. In the last six months, serious efforts were made to reunite. The family decided to stand together like before. Even party workers from both sides wanted unity. This is a massive blow to all of us,” a Pawar-family insider close to both factions told DH over phone from Baramati.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, NCP (SP) recorded the best strike rate—winning eight of the 10 seats it contested, out of Maharashtra’s 48. In contrast, the NCP won just one seat after contesting four.

In the subsequent Vidhan Sabha elections, however, the NCP emerged stronger, winning 41 of the 288 seats, while NCP (SP) managed only 10.

In terms of hierarchy, NCP (SP) has Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule as its Working President, followed by leaders such as nephew Rohit Pawar, current state President Shashikant Shinde and his predecessor Jayant Patil.

In the NCP, Praful Patel is the Working President, while the state unit is headed by Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare. Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, is a Rajya Sabha MP, though their sons Parth and Jay are not actively involved in day-to-day politics.

Parth briefly entered electoral politics in 2019, unsuccessfully contesting the Lok Sabha election from Maval. The party, meanwhile, was considering Jay Pawar’s political debut.

There is speculation that one of them may be asked to take on a larger political role. For the moment, however, Sunetra Pawar is expected to oversee party affairs, along with Patel and Tatkare.

The NCP continues to have several heavyweight leaders in Maharashtra, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dattatreya Bharne, Manikrao Kokate and Dhananjay Munde.

Notably, Ajit Pawar had already initiated steps towards reconciliation. While the two factions contested the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections separately—with limited success—they decided to fight the zilla parishad elections together under the ‘clock’ symbol, signalling the first formal step towards reunification.

Nagpur meeting drew NCP roadmap

The NCP and NCP (SP) believe in the ideology of ‘Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar’. On 19 September, 2025, the Rashtravadi Chintan Shivir in Nagpur, the geographical centre of India, focused on strengthening its relations with the BJP, for the “welfare and development of Maharashtra” reiterated the NCP’s commitment to the idea of ‘sarva dharma sambhav’ and the guiding thought of ‘Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar’. Over the past few days after the debacle in Pune in municipal  corporation elections, there were reports of Ajit Pawar returning to Maha Vikas Aghadi, however, it has been denied. 

Big question for Maha Yuti

The most immediate questions for the Devendra Fadnavis-headed Maha Yuti government as to who would be the new Deputy CM to replace Ajit Pawar, who held the Finance, Planning and Excise portfolios. With the Budget Session round the corner, a Finance Minister needs to be in office at the earliest. Also, Maha Yuti has lost a fast decision-taker who knew how to keep people in good humour.