Pune: Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar shared the dais at Pune in Maharashtra on Saturday, marking their first public appearance together since the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split in 2023.
The event, held ahead of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body polls, saw both factions release a joint manifesto, signalling a rare show of unity despite their political differences.
At a press conference in Pune, Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and his cousin Supriya Sule, working president of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), unveiled a joint manifesto for the upcoming civic elections.
This collaboration is significant because the two factions belong to opposing alliances. While Ajit Pawar’s NCP is part of the ruling Mahayuti government in the state, Sule’s NCP (SP) is aligned with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) that is in the opposition.
Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Shiv Sena – led Mahayuti government in 2023. The two factions had since functioned as bitter rivals.
Sharad Pawar reorganized his faction as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and appointed Supriya Sule as its working president, while Ajit Pawar consolidated his position within the ruling alliance. Their paths had not crossed publicly until now.
The timeline of the split underscores the importance of this reunion. Ajit Pawar’s defection in mid-2023 reshaped Maharashtra politics, leading to parallel NCP factions contesting elections separately. Over the past 2 years, both sides clashed repeatedly in the state assembly and in local campaigns. The decision to share a platform on January 10, therefore, marks a tactical truce, at least in the context of the civic polls.
For Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, two of Maharashtra’s most crucial urban centres, the collaboration could be a game-changer. A united front may help consolidate the NCP’s voter base, which had been fractured since the split.
However, questions remain about how sustainable this cooperation will be, given that the factions continue to belong to opposing state-level alliances. The civic polls thus serve as a testing ground for reconciliation.
While the joint manifesto reflects shared priorities on urban governance, the deeper political rift from the 2023 split still looms large. Whether this tactical alliance is a temporary arrangement or the beginning of a broader rapprochement will become clearer in the months ahead.
