A serious political crisis has erupted within the Mahayuti alliance in Ambad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) dramatically withdrew its support from the Shiv Sena candidate for the crucial Ambad Municipal Council president's election. The decision came following allegations of disrespect and deliberate sidelining of NCP leadership during a joint campaign event.
The Banner Controversy That Sparked the Crisis
The dispute erupted during a public meeting held on Friday evening when campaign banners failed to feature photographs of key NCP leaders including party chief Ajit Pawar and senior politician Sunil Tatkare. Also conspicuously absent were images of MLC Vikram Kale and former MLA Arvind Chavan.
The meeting, which was primarily addressed by Shiv Sena politicians including former minister Abdul Sattar, had been organized specifically to promote the Sena-NCP joint candidate Sana Mustakim Patel. The omission of NCP leadership from campaign materials proved to be the final straw for the alliance partners.
NCP's Immediate Reaction and Withdrawal
Expressing strong anger over the deliberate exclusion, NCP district executive president Chandrakant Karke confirmed to media outlets that the party decided to withdraw support immediately. "Our party president and senior leaders were missing from the banners at Friday's meeting. Despite being alliance partners, this treatment is completely unacceptable", Karke stated emphatically.
He further explained, "We had previously agreed to let Shiv Sena field its candidate for the post since we had none from our party, but this incident has deeply hurt the sentiments of our workers and leadership alike." The decision reflects growing tensions within the alliance at the local level.
Political Fallout and Election Implications
With NCP officially pulling out of the arrangement, the carefully crafted Sena-NCP strategy in Ambad now stands completely uncertain. The development has significantly altered the political landscape just ahead of the crucial municipal council president election.
The contest has now become particularly interesting with BJP fielding Devyani Kedar Kulkarni for the municipal council president's post, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has nominated Shraddha Shivprasad Sangle of NCP (SP). What was already a triangular contest is expected to heat up considerably following this breakdown in coordination between NCP and Shiv Sena.
Local NCP politicians, including Ambad taluka president Satish Dhawale and city president Nazim Shaikh, have formally conveyed their strong displeasure to the state leadership. They emphasized that the alliance had treated them as secondary partners despite repeated assurances of equal respect and representation.
Political observers view this episode as a significant setback for Mahayuti at a critical stage of campaigning. The timing of the internal conflict could not have been worse, potentially affecting the alliance's prospects in the upcoming election and revealing deeper structural issues within the coalition partnership.
