Pune NCP President Deepak Mankar Stands by Ajit Pawar Amid Party Split
Pune, Maharashtra – Deepak Mankar, the President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Pune, has declared his unwavering loyalty to Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Mankar stated that he would prefer to leave politics and sit at home rather than upset Ajit Pawar.
This statement comes in the wake of 29 former corporators, including Pimpri-Chinchwad city unit chief Ajit Gavhane, defecting from Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction to join Sharad Pawar’s faction. There is speculation that more leaders from Pune City might follow suit.
Mankar emphasized, “My loyalty is with Ajit Dada (Pawar) only. Irrespective of whether he gives me a position or not, I will stay with him. I will leave politics and sit at home, but I will not upset Dada…We have the strongest organisation in Pune.” He also mentioned having certain demands, such as a seat in the Maharashtra assembly council, but clarified that he wouldn’t leave the party even if those demands weren’t met.
Three senior leaders from the NCP’s Pimpri-Chinchwad unit—Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane—also joined Sharad Pawar’s faction recently.
In response, Supriya Sule, the working president of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), highlighted Sharad Pawar’s six-decade-long commitment to development in Maharashtra and at the Centre. She stated, “We have always ensured that our ideology of development remains strong. Pawar sahab (Sharad Pawar) has been continuously working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years. We have faith in Pawar sahab’s ideology, and at the same time, many people in the opposition also look towards him with great hopes, which is why people are joining him.”
The NCP split last year when Ajit Pawar led some MLAs to join the ruling Eknath Shinde Sena-led BJP government.
Doubts Revealed
NCP -: NCP stands for Nationalist Congress Party. It is a political party in India.
Deepak Mankar -: Deepak Mankar is a politician and the President of the NCP in Pune, a city in Maharashtra.
Ajit Pawar -: Ajit Pawar is a senior politician and the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a state in India.
Deputy Chief Minister -: The Deputy Chief Minister is the second-highest-ranking official in a state government in India.
Maharashtra -: Maharashtra is a state in western India, known for its capital city, Mumbai.
Corporators -: Corporators are elected members of the municipal corporation, which is the local government in cities.
Pimpri-Chinchwad -: Pimpri-Chinchwad is a city in the Pune district of Maharashtra, known for its industrial area.
Sharad Pawar -: Sharad Pawar is a veteran Indian politician and the founder of the NCP.
Supriya Sule -: Supriya Sule is an Indian politician and the daughter of Sharad Pawar. She is also a Member of Parliament.
Centre -: In this context, ‘Centre’ refers to the central government of India, which is based in New Delhi.
