Former Union Minister Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP suffered a crushing setback in the recently concluded municipal corporation elections, managing to win just 36 seats across the 29 civic bodies in the state. The poor performance has now triggered an exodus of leaders in Western Maharashtra, a region that has traditionally been considered the stronghold of the party chief.
According to reports, Samarjeetsinh Ghatge, the NCP-SP leader from Kagal in Kolhapur, is set to return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He recently met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Following the meeting, Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil said Ghatge's formal induction into the party will take place soon. Patil added that Ghatge's supporters were likely to contest the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections, scheduled for February 5, on BJP tickets.
Ghatge, who belongs to the Kolhapur royal family of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, had joined the NCP-SP just ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. He contested from the Kagal Assembly seat, but lost to NCP leader and Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif.
In another setback, Nitin Sawant, who headed the NCP-SP’s Khandala, Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar unit, also quit the party and joined the BJP.
Earlier, Prashant Jagtap, who was the NCP-SP's Pune City Chief, joined the Congress and contested the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections. He won from Ward No. 18 (Wanawadi-Salunkhe Vihar), defeating former minister Balasaheb Shivarkar's son Abhijit by 1,828 votes.
Moreover, the political affiliation of the NCP-SP's Vadgaonsheri MLA, Bapusaheb Pathare, remains unclear. His son Surendra Pathare and daughter-in-law Aishwarya recently joined the BJP and successfully contested the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections from Ward No. 3C (Viman Nagar-Lohegaon) and Ward No. 4D (Kharadi-Wagholi). When asked about this, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar remarked, "He (Bapusaheb Pathare) is our MLA only by body; we don't know where his mind is."
Meanwhile, the road ahead for the NCP-SP appears increasingly difficult. The party seems to have little option but to consider a merger with Ajit Pawar's faction. The two had already joined hands in the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal polls. It remains to be seen whether they will tie up again for the Zilla Parishad elections, but sooner of later, a merger appears to be on the cards.
