NCP (SP) leaders in Pune want to contest civic polls independently

Pune: The Maha Yuti government is in favour of holding civic elections immediately in the State. Following the drubbing in the State Assembly elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituent, NCP (SP), now wants to contest the civic elections in Pune on its own. The party city unit chief also indicated the same.

NCP (SP) City Unit President Prashant Jagtap said, “We are ready to fight alone. We will discuss the issue at the local level, considering the overall political situation. We will convey our views to the party President. Only then, a final decision will be made. Local office-bearers and workers want seat-distribution on the basis of political strength. We will understand the reasons behind their views.”

The NCP (SP) is facing political challenges. It is not happy with the other MVA partners: The Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT). The condition of the city Congress is pathetic. The party expected to win the three seats it contested in the State polls. But it faced defeat in the three segments. The Congress had only 10 corporators in the outgoing GB. The Shiv Sena (UBT) also had nine members in the PMC.

In this backdrop, the NCP (SP) local office-bearers do not want to have an alliance with the two MVA partners. They fear that there would be equal distribution of seats in the case of an alliance. They will have less seats. Moreover, the partners may demand much sought-after seats, which will disturb the power equation.

Local office-bearers do not want tie-ups

The NCP dominated the PMC for three consecutive terms. The party was then led by Ajit Pawar. He aligned with the Congress and retained power in the civic body. However, the BJP had a landslide win in 2017 and bagged 98 seats. Still, the NCP was the single largest opposition party. But the party has two factions now. Many former corporators are with Ajit Pawar. They have now aligned with the BJP. Therefore, they are likely to contest as the Maha Yuti. They want to cash in on the BJP’s popularity. Local office-bearers are insisting that they should contest as an alliance.

High expectations in suburban areas

A big chunk of the population in the city respects Sharad Pawar’s leadership. Most of the corporators are supporting Ajit Pawar but the party has a big mass base in suburbs. In the earlier GB, the party got maximum corporators elected from suburban areas. Therefore, a majority of office-bearers are in favour of contesting alone. This will also force the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) to put their full strength in the elections. Local workers are of the view that an alliance can also be formed after the elections. Preliminary meetings are being conducted in this regard. NCP (SP) workers want the party leadership to decide before the State Government announces the civic polls.