NCP to contest Maharashtra civic polls independently, says Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced on Sunday that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest the upcoming civic elections in Maharashtra on its own. This decision comes amid reports of local leaders and party members shifting allegiances following the NCP's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Facing the challenge of proving his political strength in the forthcoming assembly elections, Pawar urged local leaders to work diligently in their areas to strengthen the party.

“We contested the Lok Sabha elections in alliance and will be contesting assembly in alliance. I want to declare that the party will be contesting civic elections independently,” Pawar said addressing the city unit of NCP.

Pawar mentioned that some local leaders in Pimpri Chinchwad left the party due to perceived limitations in their growth because of the NCP's alliances with other political parties. “While some leaders left, the majority of the party cadre remains loyal to the NCP,” he said. He added that the decision to join the NDA was made with the intention of promoting the overall development of the state.

Pawar addressed rumors about local party leaders leaving, clarifying that these are false. He cited the example of city NCP chief Deepak Mankar, who has not left the party.