Ajit Pawar's NCP suffers blow in stronghold as four leaders quit party

In a setback to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, four leaders of the party's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit have resigned and are likely to join the Sharad Pawar faction soon. The development comes following the NCP's disastrous performance in the recent Lok Sabha election and months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief Ajit Gavahane, Pimpri-Chinchwad students' wing chief Yash Sane, and former corporators Rahul Bhosale and Pankaj Bhalekar have submitted their resignations to Ajit Pawar.

Sources said Ajit Gavahane resigned after his efforts to get a ticket for the Bhosari Assembly seat failed. BJP MLA Mahesh Landge has been elected from Bhosari constituency for the last two terms.

Pimpri-Chinchwad has been the NCP's stronghold for decades.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) stunned the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra by winning 30 of the 48 seats. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP won just one seat, Raigad, while the Sharad Pawar faction bagged eight.

The resignations come amid a buzz that some leaders of the Ajit Pawar camp are willing to return to the Sharad Pawar camp. Earlier this month, Sharad Pawar claimed some MLAs from the breakaway NCP faction met his party's senior leader Jayant Patil.

There are also speculations that Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal may desert Ajit Pawar. Last month, a senior leader from the Shiv Sena (UBT), part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, met Bhujbal.

Sources said Bhujbal was upset over Ajit Pawar nominating his wife Sunetra to the Rajya Sabha after her defeat in the Baramati Lok Sabha election to Supriya Sule.

Bhujbal, an influential OBC leader, was vying for the Rajya Sabha seat and a subsequent Union Ministry post.

Source: India Today