NCP (AP) President Ajit Pawar. (file photo)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have announced alliance before the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. BMC elections have taken a new turn after the union of Thackeray family. At the same time, Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, a part of the ruling Grand Alliance, can bring a new twist in the elections to be held next month.
NCP (Ajit Pawar) may start independent campaign. Pawar and senior leader Sunil Tatkare will address party workers in Anushaktinagar at 7 pm. This is the same area represented by party leader Nawab Malik's daughter Sana Malik, who is at the center of an ongoing dispute with the rest of the Mahayuti members.
NCP may start independent campaign
Perhaps the headline from Wednesday evening's meeting will be that NCP will run an independent campaign for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections to be held on January 15.
Why can NCP do this?
The issue of controversy is the appointment of Nawab Malik as NCP in-charge for BMC elections. Mahayuti had objected to his assuming the post and pointed to the allegations against him that he was related to buying properties linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
Malik was also arrested on money-laundering charges in 2022. He is out on bail due to health reasons, but BJP is continuously maintaining distance from him citing these allegations.
Why did BJP distance itself from NCP?
As seat-sharing talks in the grand alliance have started gaining momentum, BJP state unit chief Amit Satam announced that his party will not forge an alliance with the NCP if Nawab Malik continues to lead the NCP in Mumbai.
But Tatkare had already made it clear that the NCP would not bow down to external pressure; This came after several BJP leaders had expressed 'discomfort' in working with the Nawab Malik-led ally.
Yet, the decision to keep Ajit Pawar and the NCP out of pre-poll seat-sharing talks is not just a matter of ideology. BJP believes that this is also correct according to electoral mathematics.
In the last BMC elections in 2017, seven of the nine NCP corporators came from Mumbai's eastern suburbs, areas with Muslim and Dalit populations and where Malik holds sway. But a formal alliance with the BJP and its Hindu-first campaign risks angering this voter base.
Why a profitable deal for BJP?
If seen from BJP's perspective, it is beneficial for it. If NCP performs well then after the elections its numbers can be added to the total votes of Mahayuti. Even if this does not happen, it will help in dividing the minority votes, which will mainly harm the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena.
Will Ajit Pawar return home?
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar fighting alone in this BMC election is (perhaps) just one of the many small stories in the already complex political story of Maharashtra. For example, this morning the Thackeray brothers ended their 20 year old enmity. There is speculation about a 'homecoming' for Ajit Pawar too, even if it is temporary.
There are reports that Ajit Pawar may again join hands with his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, from whom he controversially parted ways, to join forces with the BJP in 2023.
NCP working president Supriya Sule said that, however, this alliance will be only for the Pune Municipal Corporation elections and that too only when the doubts of those supporting Sharad Pawar are cleared.
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