Ajit Pawar, top NCP leaders skip PM’s Mumbai rally amid Mahayuti rift buzz

Amid the talks of a rift within the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other senior NCP leaders opted not to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally at Chhatrapati Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Thursday. Ajit Pawar’s party is a crucial partner in the ruling alliance, alongside Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the BJP.
NCP candidates Sana Malik, Nawab Malik, and Zeeshan Siddique were also notably absent from the event, which featured leaders from the Shinde Sena and the Republican Party of India (RPI) led by Ramdas Athawale.
The absence of NCP leaders was conspicuous, especially as other alliance candidates shared the stage with PM Modi, projecting unity within the Mahayuti alliance.
While the rally was meant to highlight the coalition’s solidarity, reports suggest that NCP leaders are upset over the BJP’s ‘batenge toh katenge’ (divided we fall) campaign narrative.
Despite claims of discord, Mahayuti leaders have dismissed any allegations of a rift. On Thursday, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora firmly stated that the alliance remains united, even as signs of growing unease emerge within the Ajit Pawar-led NCP over the BJP’s aggressive Hindutva agenda ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
“The Mahayuti is united and contesting elections with full strength. I can’t say the same about the MVA,” Rajya Sabha member Deora said as quoted by news agency PTI.
Ajit Pawar had earlier criticised the ‘batenge toh katenge’ slogan, which calls for Hindu unity, saying it will not work in Maharashtra, and he called for focus on development.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis commented that his party’s ‘batenge to katenge’ slogan is a counter-narrative to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s campaign, asserted that his colleagues Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde as well as Ajit Pawar had failed to grasp its “core” meaning.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance of the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, BJP and NCP is locked in a fierce contest with the MVA comprising NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress in the November 20 assembly elections in Maharashtra.