The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) announced on Wednesday that a prominent leader from another political party was considering to join Sharad Pawar's party. The party, with its aim to challenge the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, intends to collaborate with its allies, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), to achieve this goal.
NCP state president Jayant Patil claimed but refused to reveal the leader or the name of the party. “It will be revealed at the appropriate time,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.
Eknath Khadse is one of the leaders rumoured to be under discussion. Khadse, who recently expressed that he would not rejoin the BJP due to internal opposition, had previously left the BJP to join the NCP led by Sharad Pawar two years ago due to disagreements with leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan.
The NCP (SP) has experienced a surge in interest from leaders looking to join the party ahead of the Assembly elections. The party claimed massive public dissatisfaction with the current Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar.
NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said that the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra would win less than 100 seats. Tapase attributed this decline in support to the growing discontent with the central BJP leadership. “There is visible resentment against the central leadership of the BJP. Each time these leaders visit Maharashtra, the Mahayuti’s support base erodes further,” Tapase also said.
Tapase specifically pointed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to Nagpur. During his visit, he urged BJP workers to increase their vote share by 10 per cent to ensure the alliance’s victory.
Tapase responded to Shah’s call for BJP workers to increase their vote share by suggesting that the Mahayuti's vote share would decrease by 20 percent, citing voter frustration with the BJP’s “power-hungry” approach.
He further added that the BJP has depended excessively on its central leaders to enhance its electoral prospects in Maharashtra, but the state’s residents are no longer interested. They are seeking accountability, development, and employment, which the Mahayuti has failed to deliver. The attempt to attract MLAs from Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar to form an unconstitutional alliance in Maharashtra has not been well-received by the people of the state.
