Two days after a delegation of senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi amid growing discontent, party president Sunetra Pawar held a core committee meeting with the disgruntled seniors on Monday. On Tuesday, she convened a wider meeting of the party’s legislators in an apparent bid to contain the internal unrest and project unity, especially with rumours rife that her son Parth Pawar was attempting to assume control of the party’s organisation.
At the meeting, while several legislators expressed unhappiness over the infighting, they flagged concerns about the way they were being treated by ministers from the two other Mahayuti allies, crucially inadequate fund allocation for constituency-level development works.
Some claimed BJP and Shiv Sena ministers were holding up their proposals, NCP insiders said. “The legislators were apprehensive about the growing internal dissent and underscored how public discussion on emerging differences would damage its electoral prospects,” an NCP MLA said. Another MLA said, “They also complained that several development projects were being held up by ministers belonging to the other two Mahayuti constituents, particularly Shiv Sena, leaving them struggling to deliver on commitments in their constituencies.”
He however confirmed that some MLAs had raised concerns over not receiving sufficient funds for development works. The development is significant as until recently, only national working president Praful Patel and Maharashtra unit chief Sunil Tatkare were perceived to be unhappy with the party’s new style of functioning. However, the latest expressions of collective discontent suggest that the unease has spread among other senior leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, who are considered close to Sunetra and her family.
“They used to receive funds when Ajit Dada held the finance portfolio,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: The meeting ended at 10:30pm and official comments by NCP state president Sunil Tatkare skirted this issue and instead focused on “drought in several parts of the state and steps that ministers need to take post-Diwali”. Earlier reporting noted: Parth Pawar at centre of discontent within NCP, Sunetra chairs meeting with party seniors The internal rift within NCP surfaced after a group of senior party members met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi without party chief Sunetra Pawar and her elder son and Rajya Sabha member Parth Pawar Earlier reporting noted: Pune: Discontent among NCP seniors over Rajya Sabha member Parth Pawar’s growing role in the party’s decision-making was at the core of a discussion chaired by its president and deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar at her Mumbai residence on Tuesday.
