Maharashtra results 2024: Uncertain road ahead for Ajit Pawar’s NCP after lone Lok Sabha poll victory

PUNE: This was the first electoral test for the two NCPs. But even with Supreme Court upholding the Election Commission’s recognition of his group as the real NCP, Ajit Pawar has been unable to make it count in Lok Sabha polls.

His no-holds-barred campaign against cousin Supriya Sule has failed. His wife Sunetra Pawar lost to Sule by roughly 37,000 votes. In fact, the other Lok Sabha seat where the two NCPs were pitted against each other (Shirur) was also won by the Sharad Pawar-led party. With just one LS seat (Raigad) in his kitty, many of Ajit Pawar’s MLAs might read the verdict as a sign of things to come.

Ajit Pawar may fare better in assembly polls, but some say NCP’s dismal performance in LS polls will reduce his bargaining power when he negotiates with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde for seat-sharing. On the personal front, the Lok Sabha polls have isolated Ajit in the Pawar clan. During the campaign, most family members, including his brother Shrinivas, sided with Sharad Pawar.


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