Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has openly urged the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party to return to the fold of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), sharpening political fault lines within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti just weeks ahead of key civic polls.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Raut questioned Ajit Pawar’s continued presence in the BJP-led government a day after the NCP chief alleged large-scale corruption in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), which was under BJP rule from 2017 to 2022.
The remarks came amid a tactical tie-up between the NCP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) for the January 15 elections to the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic bodies.
Raut pointed to the contradiction in Ajit Pawar’s stand.
“Then why are you in the government? He (Ajit Pawar) should come back to Sharad Pawar. Now that you have forged an alliance in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar should leave the BJP-led government, and merge (the NCP) with the original NCP (SP),” Raut said.
He added that both the BJP and Ajit Pawar have accused each other of corruption, raising questions about the stability and coherence of the alliance.
The NCP split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar joined the BJP-led Mahayuti government along with several MLAs.
The Election Commission later recognised his faction as the real NCP and allotted it the party’s original clock symbol, a decision that reshaped opposition politics in the state. Raut claimed recent statements by Ajit Pawar suggest a shift in political direction.
“It seems Ajit Pawar's direction has changed. If this is the case, then he should abandon the BJP,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said, underlining the optics of the Pawars contesting the civic polls together while remaining divided at the state level.
Ajit Pawar’s comments that triggered the fresh exchange were made on Friday, when he alleged that the PCMC had been “infested by corruption for the last nine years” and pushed into debt.
The allegations followed criticism from Union minister and BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol, who accused the NCP of fielding candidates with criminal links in the civic polls.
Defending his party’s ticket distribution, Ajit Pawar said, “Everybody knows that allegations of a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam were levelled against me. Today, I am in power alongside those who made those allegations. Can a person be labelled guilty even before it is proved?”
He also recalled the civic body’s earlier standing.
“This municipal corporation was once known as the richest in Asia. It even received awards as the best city of India when NCP was in power and achieved many such milestones, Yet, despite being so wealthy, it was never pushed into debt,” he said.
In a veiled swipe at the BJP, Ajit Pawar appeared to reference Pune gangster Nilesh Ghaywal, who has fled the country. “Who helped a person from Pune escape?” the Deputy Chief Minister asked.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body, now run by a state-appointed administrator, goes to polls on January 15 along with 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra.
