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Mahayuti—the tripartite coalition consisting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—will contest the upcoming Assembly elections together. However, fissures within the coalition are evident, as goodwill between their lower-rung leaders seems lacking.
Ahead of Ajit Pawar's visit to the Vadgaon Sheri Assembly constituency in Pune to lay the foundation stones for development works worth ₹300 crore, incumbent NCP MLA Sunil Tingre put up posters featuring only his party chief's pictures; photos of Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis were notably absent. Subsequently, BJP leader and former Vadgaon Sheri MLA Jagdish Mulik slammed Tingre, expressing his displeasure and questioning whether only the BJP and Shiv Sena are expected to adhere to the alliance's principles.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mulik wrote, "Should only the BJP and Shiv Sena follow the principle of alliance in Vadgaon Sheri Legislative Assembly? It is the responsibility of each component party in the Mahayuti to follow the principle of the alliance, but the MLA of Vadgaon Sheri has forgotten this."
"When ₹300 crore in funding is secured, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also contribute, but the MLA did not even show the courtesy of including their photos, driven by a selfish desire to take all the credit," the BJP leader added.
This isn't the first time Mulik has launched a scathing attack on an NCP leader. He had earlier criticised NCP spokesperson Amol Mitkari after the latter sought clarification from Devendra Fadnavis regarding the black flags shown to Ajit Pawar's convoy in Junnar. Taking to X, Mulik wrote in Marathi, "Ayee Mitkari, are you even qualified to ask for clarification from Devendraji? ..."
The controversy began when a group of BJP workers, led by the party’s Junnar chief Asha Buchake, waved black flags at Ajit Pawar’s convoy as his 'Jan Sanman Yatra' reached the area. The protesters criticised Pawar for holding an official function while "sidelining" the allies. Following the incident, Mitkari sought clarification from Fadnavis, who is also the state's home minister. Mitkari explained that the 'Jan Samman Yatra' is a separate NCP programme. "Those who showed black flags should do so separately. Devendra Fadnavis should immediately clarify this incident," the NCP leader added.
Meanwhile, the Vadgaon Sheri constituency is likely to witness a fight between the two NCP factions in the Assembly polls. It is somewhat clear that the sitting seats will be retained by respective parties within the Mahayuti, and hence, Sunil Tingre, who is a close aide of Ajit Pawar, is likely to get the ticket again. From NCP (SP), Ashish Mane, Bhimrao Galande, Sunil Khandwe, and Ramesh Adhav are aspiring for the ticket. The areas included in this constituency are Ahmednagar Road, Viman Nagar, Chandan Nagar, Vadgaon Sheri, Kalyani Nagar, and Yerawada.
