Ajit Pawar has confirmed that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections in alliance with its MahaYuti partners. Despite occasional verbal spats and competition over credit for welfare schemes, the NCP will continue its collaboration with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena.
In a special meeting with NCP legislators, Pawar assured that the party had reached an agreement with BJP and Shiv Sena to retain 54 Assembly seats, the same number it won in the 2019 elections.
Although the party had initially sought between 80 and 90 seats, Pawar hinted that the NCP might settle for around 60. He dismissed speculation that BJP might part ways with NCP ahead of the elections and ruled out the possibility of "friendly fights" for certain seats.
A senior NCP leader reaffirmed that there was now clarity among the legislators regarding seat allocation. Pawar made it clear that the NCP would hold on to its 54 seats and that there would be no seat exchange with BJP or Shiv Sena.
The goal of the alliance, according to Pawar, is to retain power in the state after the elections. He urged NCP legislators to avoid public disagreements and to refrain from taking sole credit for the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, emphasising that the scheme is a collective initiative of the MahaYuti.
The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana is a welfare scheme designed to support women, with nearly 2.5 crore beneficiaries set to receive Rs 7,000 for the period from July to November. Pawar expressed confidence that the scheme would benefit the alliance in the elections, as women beneficiaries are likely to support MahaYuti at the polls.
The party also discussed the findings of a recent survey conducted by a digital marketing and political management firm. The survey, which gathered 3.25 lakh samples from districts where Ajit Pawar held his Jansanman Yatra, revealed a significant increase in his popularity.
In these districts, Pawar's ratings, and by extension those of the NCP, rose from 20% to over 50%. On average, Ajit Pawar received a 48% approval rating, a boost that the NCP believes will provide political advantage in the upcoming election.
Ajit Pawar's political stature within the alliance remains strong, and his efforts to consolidate support through initiatives like the Ladki Bahin scheme and the Jansanman Yatra have bolstered his public image. The upcoming elections will be a test for the MahaYuti, with the NCP playing a pivotal role alongside BJP and Shiv Sena in their bid to remain in power in Maharashtra.
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