Mumbai: Just a day after the Mahayuti alliance’s decisive victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, a poster declaring Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the 'Future CM' was spotted near his residence in Mumbai's Malabar Hill on Sunday.
This follows another incident on November 22 in Pune, where a similar poster depicting Pawar as Chief Minister was removed. The Pune poster was reportedly placed by party leader Santosh Nangare.
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar was elected as the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the legislative assembly during a meeting chaired by state president and MP Sunit Tatkare. Anil Patil was reappointed as the party’s chief whip, tasked with ensuring legislator attendance and coordinating their participation in sessions.
The NCP, part of the Mahayuti alliance with the BJP and Shiv Sena, delivered an exceptional performance in the assembly elections, winning 41 out of the 59 seats it contested. This victory also included defeating its rival faction, NCP (SP), in 29 seats. Collectively, the Mahayuti alliance secured 233 of the 288 assembly seats, cementing their dominance in Maharashtra politics.
Ajit Pawar’s leadership played a pivotal role in the NCP’s success, solidifying his position within the alliance. Despite initial doubts about his political acumen following his controversial decision to field his wife, Sunetra Pawar, against cousin Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha polls, an election Sunetra lost, Ajit Pawar has now emerged stronger than ever.
Ajit Pawar not only retained his Baramati assembly seat with a massive margin of over one lakh votes but also managed to uphold his grip over the family bastion despite aggressive campaigning by his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar. This victory marks a significant turnaround for Ajit Pawar, who has faced criticism and speculation about his political future since breaking away from Sharad Pawar over a year ago.
At 65, Ajit Pawar, a veteran politician and multiple-time Deputy Chief Minister, has long harboured ambitions of becoming Maharashtra’s Chief Minister. His party’s resounding success in the assembly elections has brought him closer to realizing this goal, even as questions linger about whether the Mahayuti alliance will support his candidacy for the top post.
This victory starkly contrasts the NCP’s dismal performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, where it won just one of the four seats it contested in the state. Ajit Pawar’s leadership and strategic acumen have not only secured his party’s position but also bolstered his influence within the alliance and Maharashtra politics.
