Two years after getting erased from the local political landscape, the local Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) unit is steadily trying to regain its lost ground in the twin-city.
While the civic election is still 19 months away, the NCP, which was reduced from 27 to zero seats in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) during the 2017 polls, seems to have already geared into action mode by embarking on a "ghar wapsi (homecoming)" campaign to welcome their former party colleagues back who had jumped into the bandwagon of other political outfits, more specifically the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Scores of former NCP leaders, office bearers, and workers, led by former MBMC mayor Nirmala Savle and former municipal corporators Dr Asif Shaikh and Ramzan Khatri, returned to their party in the presence of state NCP president Jayant Patil and other senior leaders at a ceremony in Mumbai on Tuesday.
While Savle had joined the Shiv Sena and later the Congress, Dr Asif Shaikh, who was once considered a staunch NCP loyalist, had jumped into the BJP bandwagon on the eve of elections.
The homecomings have led to speculations about the return of a powerful former NCP leader to wrestle the BJP on the virtue of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) tie-up, comprising the Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress.
Despite being cornered by the BJP, the beleaguered NCP unit has been fighting back under the leadership of city chief Santosh Pendurkar and youth president Sajid Patel.
Both the BJP and the Shiv Sena, in an attempt to achieve electoral victories, were on an aggressive poaching spree to induct winnable candidates, irrespective of their political merit or delivery of poll promises ahead of the 2017 civic polls.
However, a large number of "aayarams-gayarams" ( term used for party-hoppers) remained sulking and were waiting on the sidelines after they failed to get suitably rewarding positions in their new home.
