Ahead of the local body polls in Maharashtra, a major rift has developed between the camps of the founder-president of NCP (AP) and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and State NCP President Sunil Tatkare. In the newly released 2025-star campaigners’ list for the local body polls is anything to go by, there are two power centres in the NCP (AP) – one led by Ajit Pawar and another headed by Sunil Tatkare.
The rift over the star campaigners’ list has cropped up at a crucial time when Ajit Pawar finding it difficult to handle his personal crisis arising out of his son Parth Pawar’s alleged involvement in the Pune land scam.
Tatkare released the list of NCP’s star campaigners on Thursday. Among others, the names of the party’s founder-president, Ajit Pawar, national working president, Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, former minister Dhananjay Munde, Women & Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, senior leader Sayaji Shinde, Minorities Commission Chairman Mushtaq Antulay and former MP Sameer Bhujbal figure in the NCP’s star campaigners’ list.
Significantly enough, the campaigners’ list includes four members from Tatkare’s own family - he himself, his daughter and Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, son Aniket Tatkare, nephew Sanjay Tatkare and four leaders from his home district, Raigad, including his close associate Mushtaq Antulay.
However, the names of important part leaders like veteran OBC leader and Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minster and veteran OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal, Rajya Sabha MP and Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, MP Nitin Patil, Dilip Walse Patil, National General Secretary Subodh Mohita, State Vice President Saleem Sarang, and Nationalist Students Congress National President Chaitanya (Sunny) Mankar.
Informed party sources said that the omissions in the star campaigners’ list was a clear indicator of the ongoing internal power struggle within the NCP. Tatkare is said to be getting directions from former Union Minister and the party’s national working Praful Patel.
Surprisingly, senior Muslim leader and former minister Nawab Malik has been ignored despite his seniority and stature within the party.
Unlike the 2024 list of NCP’s star campaigners which bore the stamp of Ajit Pawar’s influence, the 2025 list has been prepared under the direction of Tatkare.
“Tatkare has been steadily consolidating his control over the party’s organisational machinery. The new list is an attempt to reduce the influence of Ajit Pawar in the party set-up,” a senior state party leader said.
This move appears to be a calibrated step to reduce Ajit Pawar’s immediate influence,” a senior leader commented.
The elections to 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will be held on December 2. The counting of votes will be held on December 3.
The elections to 29 municipal corporations – including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the ones at Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik and Navi Mumbai — 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis will be held either in January or February, 2025.
