Mumbai: In a meeting of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Ajit Pawar faction held on Tuesday, leaders and MLAs voiced strong concerns, stating that the party appears weak and that grassroots members are left in the dark about ongoing friction among senior leadership.
The meeting of all NCP MLAs took place at the official residence of the party’s National President and Deputy Chief Minister, Sunetra Pawar.
Key leaders including National Working President Praful Patel, State President Sunil Tatkare, senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal, and Dilip Walse Patil were in attendance, along with over 20 MLAs.
Today’s meeting took place after senior party leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and complained about the unilateral functioning of party MP Parth Pawar and a lack of proper coordination. The meeting was held after the core committee met on Monday and discussed the organisational building.
During the meeting, State President Sunil Tatkare guided the MLAs on party organisation and how to tackle the severe drought situation prevailing across the state.
Tatkare instructed all MLAs to visit drought-affected areas to understand the grievances of farmers and make concerted efforts to secure government assistance for them.
Party minister Makarand Patil and legislators Anil Bhaidas Patil and Sangram Jagtap raised the issue of Internal friction and what is happening at the level of seniors. They argued that the party is becoming weak in the absence of a show of unity.
Anil Bhaidas Patil raised a demand that the party should make concerted efforts to reclaim the crucial Finance portfolio.
Additionally, several MLAs voiced complaints regarding alliance partners within the ruling Mahayuti coalition.
Notably, a majority of the MLAs, including Sunil Shelke, complained that their constituency work was not being processed or approved under the departments managed by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Further, minister Makarand Patil complained about BJP’s dominance and its efforts to weaken the allies. He narrated the manner in which BJP won the Satara Zilla Parishad polls bypassing the NCP and Shiv Sena.
He informed that the NCP and Shiv Sena therefore fought together in the just concluded elections to the Satara District Central Co-operative Bank against BJP.
MLA Saroj Ahir claimed that BJP and the Nashik District administration are not keeping her in the loop, especially during the implementation of a slew of works for the Sinhasth Kumbh Mela.
Another MLA, Hiraman Khosksar, argued that if the NCP gets a stepmotherly treatment in the allocation of funds, they will face defeat in the 2029 assembly polls.
Following instructions from the senior leadership encouraging legislators to freely express their challenges and opinions, the MLAs directly questioned the top brass regarding ongoing internal conflicts within the party.
Some legislators pointed out that due to the ongoing disputes among senior leaders, grassroots workers remain completely unaware of what is actually transpiring at the top. They further complained that continuous reports of friction among the leadership are weakening the party.
MLAs reiterated that despite being a ruling coalition partner, their developmental works are stalling, particularly due to bottlenecks within Eknath Shinde’s departments.
In response, State President Sunil Tatkare assured the legislators that these concerns and matters regarding the internal conflicts would be discussed and resolved in a meeting of the party’s senior leadership.
The party president and DCM Sunetra Pawar urged the legislators and MPs to work together to strengthen the party organisation.
(IANS)
