In a major development in Pune politics, NCP-SP City Chief Prashant Jagtap is likely to resign from his post amid speculation about a merger with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's faction ahead of the municipal corporation polls.
There is speculation that the NCP, NCP-SP and the Congress may ally to counter the BJP in Pune. However, Jagtap has strongly opposed an alliance between the two NCP factions from the beginning. He stated that his resignation is ready if the two NCP factions announce their merger.
Jagtap said, “When the NCP split, I rebuilt the party in Pune under Sharad Pawar's leadership. If the Maha Vikas Aghadi contests the upcoming municipal elections together in Pune, the Sharad Pawar group will benefit. Conversely, if we fight alongside Ajit Pawar, our party will suffer losses. Also, if forming an alliance with Ajit Pawar again just before the elections leads to the downfall of our party workers, then I will leave the party. I haven't resigned yet. But if both NCP factions unite, I will resign not only from the city president post but also from the membership of the Sharad Pawar group.”
Earlier on Monday, Ajit Pawar, who is exploring the possibility of a tie-up with the Congress for the PMC polls, phoned Satej Patil.
Sources said Ajit Pawar, during the telephonic conversation, put forth a proposal to discuss an alliance, with Patil responding that he would need to discuss the issue with his party, which is seeking a respectable share of seats.
However, these sources said the possibility of an alliance between the NCP and the Congress looks unlikely, as the latter is not keen on accepting a lesser number of seats in the 165-member Pune civic body.
“The Pune Lok Sabha seat belongs to the Congress (as per the MVA's seat-sharing formula), and the party needs to secure a good number of votes to strengthen its grassroots,” the sources said.
The BJP and the NCP will contest the Pune civic polls separately.
Incidentally, the Congress is also in talks with its MVA allies, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP.
(With PTI inputs)
