BJP Stuns NCP–NCP (SP) in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad; Ajit Pawar to Discuss Loss
Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday congratulated the BJP after the party defeated the NCP and NCP (SP) alliance in the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad local elections, the results of which were declared a day ago.
Pawar had attacked the BJP, which was in power in two civic bodies in the region between 2017 and 2022, for irregularities and “derailment of development” and brought a very high level of harshness to the campaign. The BJP, which is an ally of the NCP in Mahayuti, had warned that Pawar should introspect before making such statements.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Pawar said his party will sit down and discuss the poll reversal.
When asked about the opposition maligning EVMs, Pawar said he would not comment on the issue but added that it was natural to blame them after the defeat, but no one asked such questions after the victory.
“Voters are important and every political party must continue its efforts. The BJP has achieved significant success and I congratulate the party for its performance. These civic elections were fought by the BJP under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other parties had to face defeat,” Pawar said.
The Deputy CM added that the outcome of this defeat is not to be discouraged but to continue working.
When asked about the possible reasons for the defeat in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, once a stronghold of NCP and Pawars, he said, “It has been just 24 hours since the results were declared. The party will sit and discuss the result. The media had also predicted a positive atmosphere for the party, but the media’s predictions also went wrong.”
The BJP stunned the Pawars in the Pune polls, bagging 119 seats; Ajit Pawar-led NCP came a distant second with 27 seats and its ally NCP (SP) got three seats, while Congress got 15 seats. In Pimpri Chinchwad, the BJP had a clear majority with 84 seats in the 128-member body.
When asked if there was a meeting during the day to discuss the merger of NCP and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP), the Deputy CM said no such meeting took place.
“An agricultural exhibition was inaugurated today and I had come to Baramati for that. I was told that (Sharad) Pawar Saheb was also at his house. So I went to his house and later we all headed towards the exhibition,” he explained.
Emphasizing that there is unity in the Pawar family in the face of such alliance speculations, the Deputy CM said, “We are together as the Pawar family. We go to each other’s places when necessary.”
An agricultural exhibition was inaugurated at Baramati Tehsil in Pune by the two leaders here.
Later, a meeting was also held at Sharad Pawar’s house, attended by several leaders from both factions of the NCP, including Ajit Pawar, MP Supriya Sule, MLA Rohit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde, Jayant Patil and state minister Dattatray Bharne.
On NCP (SP) state unit chief Shashikant Shinde’s statement that both NCPs will fight together in the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections, Ajit Pawar said that he did not hear what Shinde said.
However, Pawar maintained that the right to form alliances in such elections is given to the local leadership.
“We are working together in Mahayuti and our work continues,” he said. Mahayuti consists of BJP, NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
However, the three parties fought separately in many of the 29 municipal institutions where elections were held on January 15. These included Mumbai, where the BJP and Shiv Sena were in alliance while Ajit Pawar’s team was fighting separately. In Pune, the NCP has formed an alliance with the NCP (SP) while the BJP and Shiv Sena are fighting independently.
