Ajit Pawar will return to MVA, NCP factions to unite, claims Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday (January 24, 2026) claimed that the two factions of the NCP will come together and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will return to the Maha Vikas Aghadi, as his heart is with his family.

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Speaking to reporters, Mr. Raut claimed that the ruling NCP has merged with Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) as both are contesting on the ‘clock’ poll symbol in the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in the State.

“Though Ajit Pawar is part of the Mahayuti, he is still connected with the MVA. Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar will come together as part of the MVA. Ajit Pawar cannot step on two stones,” he said.

Ajit Pawar joined the then Eknath Shinde government along with eight MLAs in July 2024, resulting in a split in the NCP. The faction led by him got the party name and ‘clock’ symbol, while Sharad Pawar’s outfit is now called NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

The NCP factions had formed an alliance for the municipal corporation polls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad earlier this month and have announced a tie-up for the third phase of civic body polls scheduled for February 5. They will contest on the Ajit Pawar-led party’s clock symbol.

Mr. Raut further alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is upset with the BJP over the mayoral post in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Even the central leadership in Delhi is not ready to relent, he said.

In the recently held civic elections, the BJP won 89 seats and its ally, the Shiv Sena, 29, handing the Mahayuti combine a narrow majority in the 227-member BMC.

Mr. Shinde has reiterated that Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor, without elaborating on his stand on the matter.

Though largely ceremonial, the Mumbai mayor’s post is a symbol of the political dominance of the governing party. The mayor presides over key civic meetings of the country’s richest civic body.