Pune: Political Tug-of-War in Pimpri Chinchwad: Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar to Hold Back-to-Back Meetings
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 19th July 2024: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has always considered Pimpri Chinchwad its stronghold. However, following the split between Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar, the NCP divided into two factions. Now, both factions aim to dominate in the Pimpri Chinchwad area for the upcoming elections. Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s City President, Ajit Gavhane, has shifted allegiance to Sharad Pawar’s faction. Sharad Pawar is scheduled to hold a meeting in the city tomorrow, while Ajit Pawar will follow with a meeting the day after.
Once a bastion of the NCP, Pimpri Chinchwad’s political landscape changed when the late MLA Laxman Jagtap and Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), bringing it into power in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Following the NCP split last year, most major corporators and leaders sided with Ajit Pawar. However, disagreements over seat allocations for the Lok Sabha and disappointing results led to growing rifts within the Pimpri Chinchwad NCP. On 17th July, the City President of Ajit Pawar-led NCP in Pimpri Chinchwad defected to Sharad Pawar’s faction along with its supporters. Tushar Kamathe, City President of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, claims that more party members will join Sharad Pawar’s meeting tomorrow, indicating that discontented members from Ajit Pawar’s faction are now aligning with Sharad Pawar.
Following the major defection in Pimpri Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar held a meeting with the remaining leaders. During the meeting, Pawar said, “I tried to make Gavhane understand, but he didn’t listen. He wanted to contest in the Legislative Assembly Elections, which is why he resigned. I didn’t send him there. Don’t misunderstand. For what to do next, I will gather activists’ opinions when I am in the city on Sunday.” Pawar’s meeting is scheduled to be held in Kalewadi on Sunday morning. Despite rumors of former MLA Vilas Lande also defecting, he was present at Ajit Pawar’s meeting.
