Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar on Friday dismissed speculation about a merger of the NCP and the NCP(SP), saying such discussions existed only in the media.
On the NCP-NCP(SP) alliance in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pawar said it was not premeditated.
“Local party workers felt that contesting together would be beneficial. That is how the alliance was formed,” Ajit Pawar told PTI in an interview.
“Right now, we are focused only on winning maximum seats,” he said.
Elections to 29 municipal corporations, including Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies, across the state are scheduled for 15 January. Votes will be counted the next day.
Pawar attacks local BJP leadership
Pawar also said that party-hopping has become rampant, with leaders being lured or coerced into switching sides, as he continued his attack on the local BJP leadership in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
“Lately, political parties have almost abandoned their respective ideologies. Leaders are going anywhere and doing whatever they feel,” he added.
He alleged that their “lack of vision” had pushed the two civic bodies into “crisis”, despite massive spending over the last eight to nine years.
“From 1992 till 2017, Pimpri-Chinchwad was developed with minute planning. The corporation became the richest civic body in Asia due to sound financial management and able leadership. There was no need to take loans or issue bonds during our tenure,” Pawar claimed.
Though partners in the ruling Mahayuti coalition in the state, the BJP and NCP are contesting the civic polls in the two cities independently. The BJP has been urging Pawar to refrain from targeting allies while campaigning.
Alleging that some leaders are being poached through inducements, while others are pressured by highlighting pending inquiries against them, the NCP chief said money and muscle power are being openly used in the political arena.
“Those who have money and muscle power are using it. Those who feel that votes can be sought by raking up caste issues are adopting that tactic,” Pawar said.
“Surveys are being used to check who is the most popular candidate in a particular area. If that person belongs to the opposite party, efforts are made to poach him or her,” he said ahead of the upcoming civic polls.
Pawar hails Maharashtra’s first CM Yashwantrao Chavan
Pawar pointed out that Yashwantrao Chavan, the state’s first chief minister, “used to pay equal respect to opposition party leaders as well. He used to distribute funds without thinking whether the person was from the opposition. However, over the years, some sort of vendetta politics has crept in. This should not happen”.
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