With Eye On Reviving NCP(SP), Sharad Pawar Faucets On Grassroot Chief As Maharashtra Chief, Shuns Dynasty
New Delhi: In a big transfer aimed toward reviving the social gathering’s fortunes in its conventional strongholds, the Nationalist Congress Occasion (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) has appointed Shashikant Shinde as its new Maharashtra state president. A low-key but influential Maratha chief from Western Maharashtra, Shinde replaces Jayant Patil, the longest-serving state chief of the social gathering.
Shinde, 61, is a Mathadi (porter) union chief from Satara and is broadly seen as a non-controversial determine. After his appointment, he visited the Navi Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) union workplace, the place he has lengthy been a frontrunner. “I paid my respects to the late (Mathadi union chief) Annasaheb Patil, who has guided me and confirmed me the way in which ahead,” he stated, in accordance with the media studies.
Shinde assured supporters that he would work tirelessly to rejuvenate the social gathering. “There’s a large political vacuum that must be crammed by the Opposition. I’m positive that the folks of Maharashtra will come to us in massive numbers if we stand robust as an organisation. It’s a nice honour that somebody like me, who comes from a easy background, climbed up the political ladder and is now allowed to guide the social gathering,” he stated.
His appointment additionally places to relaxation hypothesis {that a} member of the Pawar household would take over the reins within the state. It underlines Sharad Pawar’s intention to restructure the NCP (SP) and reclaim floor misplaced after the 2023 cut up, when a faction led by Ajit Pawar broke away.
Although Shinde had been seen as near Ajit Pawar, serving as Minister of State for Water Sources from 2013 to 2014, he selected to stay loyal to Sharad Pawar throughout the social gathering’s division.
A seasoned politician, Shinde has been a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) since 2020. Earlier than that, he was elected to the Meeting 4 instances, twice from Jaoli (1999, 2004), and after delimitation, from Koregaon (2009, 2014). Nevertheless, he misplaced the Koregaon seat in 2019 and once more in 2024 to Mahesh Shinde of the Shiv Sena (then an undivided social gathering).
Within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shinde contested from Satara however misplaced to the BJP’s Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale by round 32,000 votes. He later attributed his loss to confusion brought on by an Unbiased candidate, Gade, whose image resembled that of the NCP (SP). Gade secured 37,000 votes.
Shinde’s political journey hasn’t been with out controversy. In 2021, after dropping the Satara District Central Cooperative Financial institution election by only one vote, his supporters pelted stones on the social gathering workplace in Satara. Shinde later described the incident as “a results of emotional outburst” and stated he had apologised to Sharad Pawar for it.
In 2023, forward of the Lok Sabha elections, Shinde confronted allegations of misappropriation within the APMC he headed and the opportunity of arrest. At a rally in Karad, he remained defiant. “I’m not scared and can proceed to battle. Allow them to arrest me. They’re utilizing all attainable means to hassle me. That is the second revolution after Independence to maintain democracy alive, and everybody of us ought to battle collectively,” he declared, as per the studies.
With solely 10 MLAs within the 288-member Meeting, the NCP (SP) faces a frightening job in rebuilding its organisational power. Shinde’s political future stays unsure, as his MLC time period is ready to run out in August subsequent 12 months. Retaining that seat might show tough given the social gathering’s diminished numbers.
However, his elevation alerts Sharad Pawar’s effort to rebuild from the grassroots, banking on skilled but grounded leaders to reconnect with the social gathering’s base in Western Maharashtra.
