NCP unity for Maharashtra ZP, Panchayat Samiti polls

Pune: Factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar will contest the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections together, an NCP (SP) leader said on Saturday.

The announcement has come in the wake of the severe drubbing the two NCP factions received in the Pune civic elections, where the BJP stunned the Pawars in their traditional stronghold, clinching 119 seats, with Ajit Pawar-led party coming in distant second with 27 and its ally NCP (SP) managing just three seats.

Speaking to reporters, NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit president Shashikant Shinde said the factions have decided to join hands for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections scheduled on February 5.


"Both parties had a discussion. We will contest elections to 12 Zilla Parishads together. Also, if there's a need for a friendly contest, we will think about it," he said.

He said the NCP (SP) would introspect on its defeat in the municipal corporation elections and move forward.

Shinde met party chief Sharad Pawar at an agriculture exhibition in Pune's Baramati tehsil, and a meeting was also held at Pawar's residence with senior leaders from both factions, including Ajit Pawar, MP Supriya Sule, MLA Rohit Pawar, Jayant Patil, and state Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne.

Elections to 12 Zilla Parishads (ZP) and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra will be held on February 5, and counting of votes will be taken up on February 7.