The political scenario in Maharashtra got shaken up in an unexpected way when uncle Sharad Pawar and nephew Ajit Pawar declared that they will be joining hands in the local elections to be held soon. Their coming together has become a topic of discussion among political experts and has resulted in speculation about the Mahayuti coalition government continuing to maintain its majority.
The Pawar Family Comes Together
Ajit Pawar made it known that his NCP faction will team up with Sharad Pawar’s faction for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections. At a rally, Ajit Pawar expressed the “parivar (family) has come together,” which can be interpreted as a political reunion after a separation period of several years. Both factions consented to run together, merging their symbols and showing a united front in front of the civic polls. The association of the two factions is a consequence of the event when Ajit split from the NCP in 2023, and subsequently, he joined the BJP and led Mahayuti, thus creating a significant divide in Maharashtra politics.
Is This a Red Flag for Mahayuti?
This reunion has led to a lot of speculation about how strong the Mahayuti alliance really is, the coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena , and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Analysts are asking if this step might be a sign of pressure internally in Mahayuti or if it’s just a chess move in the local elections. There are those who think that it can provoke some internal conflicts on the ruling side, and there are others who understand it as confined to municipal elections and that it doesn’t have any impact on the state-level alliance.
