After the death of Ajit Pawar, internal differences have started coming to the fore in the Nationalist Congress Party. There is resentment over issues like increasing role of Parth Pawar, not taking advice from senior leaders and MLAs not getting funds for development works. At present, no changes were made regarding appointments in the Core Committee meeting.
Tezzbuzz Desk – After the demise of Ajit Pawar, the tussle regarding organization and leadership in his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seems to be intensifying. Questions are being raised about the role of Parth Pawar within the party and senior leaders not being included in major decisions. The MLAs have also raised the issue of not getting adequate funds for development works in their assembly constituencies and lack of better coordination within the party.
On the night of 3 November, a meeting of party MLAs was held at the Devagiri bungalow of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar. 33 out of 50 party officials and public representatives participated in this meeting which lasted for about four hours. Out of 41 MLAs of the Assembly, 29 MLAs were present in the meeting. Issues related to party functioning and coordination among leaders were discussed in the meeting.
Why are senior leaders angry with the increasing role of Parth Pawar?
According to party sources, some senior leaders are uncomfortable with the increasing role of Parth Pawar. Their complaint is that they are not consulted before taking important decisions of the party and old leaders are not being given enough importance. Some MLAs also said that they do not get timely information about what is going on among the big leaders of the party.
In the meeting, MLAs raised the issue of lack of funds for development works. Some leaders also complained about the work related to Eknath Shinde's departments not getting done. Emphasis was laid on the need to create better coordination within the party regarding these issues.
Questions were also raised regarding two appointments
There has also been resentment in the party regarding the appointments of Zeeshan Siddiqui to the post of Mumbai President and Umesh Patil to the post of National Chief Spokesperson. Senior leaders complain that the core committee members were not consulted before making these appointments.
Chhagan Bhujbal has earlier said that he got the information about these appointments not from the party but through the media. Concern is also being raised within the party that while promoting new faces, experienced leaders are being left behind.
After meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and meetings in Mumbai, a four-page plan has been prepared to improve the functioning of the party. This includes proposals like restarting the Janata Darbar in the party office, holding weekly meetings with MLAs and Legislative Council members, improving coordination between leaders and focusing on development work in the assembly constituencies.
Sunetra Pawar appealed to the MLAs and leaders to work unitedly. He set a target of increasing the party's seats in the 2029 assembly elections and instructed the ministers to complete the development work along with the MLAs. Emphasis was also laid on visiting drought affected areas and understanding the problems of farmers. The issue of getting the finance department back to the party also came up in the meeting.
The core committee did not make any changes in the appointments.
No final decision could be taken on the ongoing differences within the party in the Core Committee meeting held on Wednesday. It was decided in the meeting that for the time being there will be no change in the recent appointments. Zeeshan Siddiqui will remain the Mumbai President and Umesh Patil will remain the National Chief Spokesperson.
Parth Pawar talked about keeping an eye on the work of both of them for the next six months. He also assured that in future, major decisions of the party will be taken only after discussion with the core committee. There was no response from Parth Pawar and Sunetra Pawar after the meeting.
After the death of Ajit Pawar, the party is facing the challenge of removing the resentment of the leaders and keeping the organization united. Issues like the role of Parth Pawar, inclusion of senior leaders in decisions, funds for development work of MLAs and the finance department remain important for the party.
At present, no decisive solution to the dispute has emerged from the Core Committee meeting. Now it remains to be seen how the party, under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar, overcomes these differences and is able to establish better coordination within the organization or not.