Can Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar reunite? Fadnavis responds cautiously

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he was not ruling out the possibility of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions, led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, coming together in the future, even as he described their current collaboration in a few civic bodies as a limited, local arrangement.

Speaking to the media on the final day of campaigning for the January 15 civic body elections, Fadnavis clarified that the Pawar factions were only allied in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations and had not formally merged.

“They are contesting in alliance in just two bodies. They have not merged officially. This is more of a local phenomenon — leaders from both sides are trying to project that they are fighting together to keep their flock together,” Fadnavis said.

However, the chief minister did not dismiss the possibility of a broader reunion, citing Maharashtra’s recent political history. “Bearing in mind the 2019 experience — when an undivided Shiv Sena joined hands with Congress and the NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi — I am cautious about this development and not dismissing any possibility,” he added. Fadnavis said the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, would respond if such a realignment occurred. “If they come together in the future, we will think about it at that time,” he noted.

The comments follow speculation triggered by the temporary alliance of the two NCP factions in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic polls, despite their bitter rivalry at the state level. Fadnavis suggested the local tie-up was largely aimed at managing internal party equations rather than signaling a wider political shift.

“Leaders on both sides are using the alliance to keep their flock together in tightly contested municipal races,” he said.

Fadnavis spoke after an intensive campaign in which he expressed confidence that the Mahayuti would secure key municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, and Nashik. He, however, acknowledged Maharashtra’s volatile alliance politics, noting that even unlikely combinations could not be ruled out ahead of state and national elections later this year.