NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad Chief Ajit Gavhane & 3 Others Join Sharad Pawar's Party Ahead Of Assembly Polls (VIDEO)

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) suffered a major blow in Pimpri-Chinchwad as four of its top leaders in the industrial city joined the Sharad Pawar faction on Wednesday.

NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief Ajit Gavhane is among the leaders who joined the party. The others are NCP Pimpri-Chinchwad Students' Wing chief Yash Sane and former corporators Rahul Bhosale and Pankaj Bhalekar.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal earlier, Gavhane had expressed his intention to contest the upcoming Assembly polls from the Bhosari constituency and had clearly stated that if he doesn't get a ticket from Ajit Pawar's party, he would align with Sharad Pawar's faction.

Considering that BJP's Mahesh Landge is the incumbent MLA in Bhosari, the seat is unlikely to go to the NCP in the seat-sharing among the Mahayuti partners.

Meanwhile, Gavhane has claimed that the BJP is responsible for corruption in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). "If you look at Pimpri-Chinchwad, both Ajit Dada and Pawar Saheb have contributed to its development. But since 2017, the BJP has been ruling PCMC. The development work here was done in a wrong way, especially if you look at other constituencies. There was rampant corruption here and the sitting MLA is responsible for it," he said.

Speaking about Gavhane and other PCMC leaders leaving NCP, Baramati MP Supriya Sule said leaders are joining the senior Pawar's camp as they believe in his ideology. She said, "I think everyone has different experiences in the party. We never let our ideology and the ideology of development diminish. Pawar Saheb has been working continuously for the last 60 years in Maharashtra and at the Centre, for development. We believe in the ideology of Pawar Saheb but others too look at him with great hopes and are therefore joining him."

It's not unusual for leaders to leave Ajit Pawar's faction and join the senior Pawar. Nilesh Lanke switched sides and contested as an NCP (SP) candidate in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls from Ahmednagar constituency. The former Parner MLA defeated BJP's incumbent MP Sujay Vikhe by a sizeable margin in a keenly watched contest.

Also, Ajit Pawar's chips are down in the state as his party bagged only one seat in the Lok Sabha polls. His party also did not get any representation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet. They had demanded a senior ministry but were offered a junior one which they rejected. Besides, the Pune Porsche crash case, in which NCP MLA Sunil Tingre's name came up, has put the Deputy Chief Minister on the back foot.

The growing crime rate in Pune and drug consumption at bars and pubs have raised concerns. Ajit Pawar's lackadaisical response, despite being the guardian minister, has put his supporters in jeopardy. Additionally, several BJP office-bearers have blamed the ruling alliance's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls on Ajit Pawar's inclusion in the Mahayuti. Many saffron party workers have even called for removing his party from the alliance.

It will be interesting to watch if more leaders leave Ajit Pawar's side before the Assembly polls or if he is able to keep his pack together.