The unfortunate death of Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash has caused a stir in the state's political circles. Following this incident, the party quickly decided to assign the responsibility of the Deputy Chief Minister to Sunetra Pawar. Apart from the Finance Ministry, the responsibility of three other departments has also been entrusted to her, and she has been elected as the leader of the NCP legislative group. In addition, she has been given full authority to make all decisions within the party.
Before the swearing-in ceremony of the Deputy Chief Minister, a unanimous decision was made on all these matters at a meeting of all NCP MLAs held in Mumbai. With the appointment of Sunetra Pawar, the leadership change within the party has gained momentum, and now everyone is focused on how the role of NCP in the grand alliance government will shape up.
Meanwhile, a few days ago, in the municipal elections held in the state, the BJP achieved significant success. In the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, the BJP elected the most corporators. In both these places, the NCP Ajit Pawar group and the Sharad Pawar group came together to challenge the BJP, yet the NCP did not achieve the expected success. The BJP won in many places by forming an alliance with the Shiv Sena (Shinde group), while the NCP Ajit Pawar group allied with the Sharad Pawar group in some places and contested independently in others.
After the demise of Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party has made an important decision not to field a candidate in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation mayoral election. Since the party will not contest this election, there is a possibility that the BJP candidate will be elected unopposed. The deadline for filing nominations for the mayoral position is today from 3 PM to 5 PM, making it almost certain that the BJP will have the mayor in Pimpri-Chinchwad. These developments have further complicated the political equations in Maharashtra, and attention is focused on the future structure of the Nationalist Congress Party and changes in the grand alliance.