"We wish to have an alliance": NCP SP leader Azam Pansare on allying with NCP ahead of PMC polls

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 27 (ANI): NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) leader Azam Pansare, following his meeting with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at Pimpri-Chinchwad on December 26, expressed his wish to establish an alliance with the Ajit Pawar faction ahead of Pune Municipal elections.
Speaking with the media, Pansare said, "Ajit Pawar came to meet me after a long time. We had a lot of discussions on general issues... We wish to have an alliance (between NCP SP and NCP)... He told me that a decision will be taken soon."
This development came after the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) decided to reunite ahead of the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation elections.
Following the reunion, NCP-SCP leader Ankush Kakade said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi partners, along with the temporarily united NCP, will soon decide on a "seat-sharing formula."
"Nationalist Congress Party- Sharadchandra Pawar and Nationalist Congress Party- Ajit Pawar have decided to contest the upcoming municipal elections together," the NCP-SCP leader told ANI.
The reunion of NCP factions marked a significant turn in Maharashtra politics, as it is the first time both parties will contest an election together since Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar broke away from the NCP, led by his uncle Sharad Pawar, in 2023.
Taking note of these developments, Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat expressed optimism, saying that Sharad Pawar is a great leader and whatever decision Pawar takes will be a good one.
"... Sharad Pawar is a great leader... Whatever decision he takes will be a good one," Thorat told ANI.
The State Election Commission in Maharashtra has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)