Mumbai – The growing discord within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti coalition is pushing Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) towards a crucial decision: whether to stay in the alliance or break away.
The strain became evident after the BJP, a key ally in the coalition, publicly criticized the NCP for its poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The tensions escalated on August 18, when BJP workers in Pune, led by former district council president Asha Buchke, protested against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, accusing him of sidelining BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Buchke and her supporters waved black flags and shouted slogans during Pawar’s Jansanman Yatra, an outreach campaign ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
The incident prompted top NCP leaders to intervene, urging the BJP to prevent further disruptions in the interest of coalition unity. NCP leader Amol Mitkari demanded that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis clarify whether the protest was sanctioned by the party’s leadership. State NCP Chief Sunil Takare echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the Jansanman Yatra is an independent NCP initiative and calling for a strong warning against such protests.
The NCP’s dissatisfaction stems not only from the Lok Sabha election debacle, where it won just one of the four contested seats but also from ongoing disputes over seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming assembly elections. Pawar has reportedly met with Home Minister Amit Shah multiple times to resolve these issues, with the NCP seeking at least 75 seats—a demand the BJP is reluctant to meet.
The Mahayuti coalition’s internal conflicts are in stark contrast to the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), composed of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and the Congress, which has managed to unite and present a cohesive front.
Adding to the coalition’s troubles, a recent incident where a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj collapsed in Sindhudurg district has caused further embarrassment.
With pressure mounting from within his party and criticism from the Maratha community over his split from his uncle and NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar now faces a difficult choice: remain in the increasingly fractious Mahayuti or return to his political roots in the MVA. Political observers suggest that a victory for the MVA in the assembly elections could destabilize the Modi government at the center, with potential defections from JD(U) and NTP. Ajit Pawar’s next move could have significant implications for both state and national politics.
