By Sunita D
NCP chief Ajit Pawar and Deputy chief minister on Sunday announced that NCP and NCP (Sharad Pawar) will contest the upcoming Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections in an alliance. The Municipal Corporations elections are scheduled to be held on January 15.
“A parivar ( family ) is coming together as many people wanted this to happen,” Pawar stated while addressing a campaign rally in Talawade for party candidates.
Pawar stated that the seat-sharing understanding between the NCP and NCP (SP) has been finalized and will be made public within the next couple of days. Stressing the need for collective responsibility, he said, “We belong to farming families, farming is our caste. Some decisions have to be taken keeping the broader interests of Maharashtra at heart.”
Speaking at a rally, Pawar announced the party’s candidates for Ward 12, a constituency where the 2017 civic elections are held. The declared candidates are Pankaj Bhalekar, Sharad Bhalekar, Seema Bhalekar, and Charulata Sonawane. Later, while addressing a public gathering in Chikhali for Ward 1, he named Yash Sane, Vikas Sane, Sadhna Netaji Kashid and Sangita Tamhane as the party’s nominees.
Pawar’s announcement comes against the backdrop of continued uncertainty over a possible alliance for the Pune civic elections. Senior leaders within the party had earlier ruled out any tie-up, primarily due to Ajit Pawar’s firm stance that candidates from the Sharad Pawar-led faction should contest on his party’s election symbol.
According to sources quoted by Economic Times, the NCP (SP) leadership refused to accept this condition, arguing that doing so would convey the impression that they had acknowledged Ajit Pawar’s leadership of the party, a position they are unwilling to concede.
Senior NCP (SP) leader Ankush Kakade confirmed that members of the party’s Pune held discussions with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday. However, he said the talks failed to move forward, as no consensus could be reached on the issue of an alliance for the civic body elections.
The dispute over symbols continues to remain a key point of contention. The clock symbol, which was historically associated with the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, was allotted to Ajit Pawar’s faction after the Election Commission recognised it as the original party. In response, the Sharad Pawar – led group adopted the ‘trumpet and drum’ (tutari) symbol, marking its separate political identity.