The proposed alliance between the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions for the upcoming Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation polls seems to have hit a roadblock.
According to reports, the Ajit Pawar faction demanded that the Sharad Pawar faction contest the elections on the 'clock' symbol. However, the later declined the offer outright and walked out of the meeting.
After the talks failed, the NCP-SP has reportedly gone back to their Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners -- Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- for seat-sharing discussions.
Meanwhile, former NCP-SP Pune City Chief Prashant Jagtap joined the Congress on Friday in the presence of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Harshwardhan Sapkal at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai’s Dadar. Several office-bearers of the NCP-SP from Pune also switched over to the Congress along with Jagtap.
Jagtap had quit the NCP-SP after opposing the party's plan to align with the Ajit Pawar-led faction for civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.
Speaking after joining the Congress, Jagtap said the party is a 135-year-old organisation with a strong ideological foundation, adding that he joined to carry forward the ideas of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. "My fight is against casteism and corruption, and today, only the Congress can challenge the BJP," he said.
Before joining the Congress, he reportedly received calls from both Shiv Sena factions. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde both called Jagtap, urging him to join their respective parties. However, Jagtap reportedly told them that he believes in the ideology of the Congress and would therefore join the party.
