Mumbai, July 25 — Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), recently held a crucial meeting with Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah in Delhi, confirmed sources close to Pawar. The meeting, which took place late on Wednesday night, is seen as significant amidst the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls.
Pawar is scheduled to make another visit to Delhi on July 28, continuing discussions that are pivotal for the ruling Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, BJP, and NCP. The alliance is gearing up for seat-sharing talks ahead of the state elections expected in October this year.
The meeting gains prominence in light of the NCP’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where despite contesting four seats, they managed to secure only one. Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, contested from Baramati but was defeated by sitting MP Supriya Sule, daughter of veteran leader Sharad Pawar, who heads the NCP.
Ajit Pawar, who joined the state government led by Eknath Shinde in July 2023 and assumed the role of Deputy Chief Minister, has faced criticism from some BJP leaders and RSS affiliates. An article in the RSS-affiliated weekly publication ‘Vivek’ attributed the BJP’s electoral setbacks in Maharashtra to its alliance with Ajit Pawar’s NCP.
Despite these challenges, Pawar has asserted that his party has secured a Rajya Sabha seat following the vacancy left by MP Udayanraje Bhosale’s election to the Lok Sabha.
