Prashant Kishor meeting with NCP sparks leadership speculation, tensions with BJP ally

A meeting between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders and poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has triggered speculation over the party’s Maharashtra leadership and raised concerns among its Mahayuti ally, the BJP.

Kishor met NCP national president Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP, on Thursday, while her other son Jay joined the meeting virtually. The meeting reportedly focused on the party’s political roadmap, with speculation that Kishor had recommended replacing Maharashtra NCP chief Sunil Tatkare, allegedly citing his performance as state president.

Tatkare, however, rejected the need for a poll strategist and questioned how Kishor could take up such a role while heading his own political party.

“I don’t need strategists because I’m a field person. A visit to a village tells me about the mood of its people,” Tatkare said, adding that he had not been informed of any decision to appoint Kishor.

He also stressed that the NCP follows a system of collective leadership and that major organisational decisions cannot be taken unilaterally.

State Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne, a close aide of Sunetra Pawar, confirmed that Kishor had been appointed the NCP’s poll strategist but denied that he had called for Tatkare’s removal.

“He is our poll strategist,” Bharne told reporters, describing reports about Tatkare’s removal as speculation.

The development also appeared to unsettle the BJP, which is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. BJP leader and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the NCP had the right to take decisions within the party but cautioned against moves that could create “doubts” or harm the alliance.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also said the BJP had not been informed about Kishor’s reported appointment as the NCP’s political consultant.

Kishor, however, played down the political significance of the meeting. Responding by text message, he said it was “merely a personal meeting with the Pawars, who are family friends” and had nothing to do with politics.

The controversy comes after Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party scored a major victory in the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar, defeating the BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha.