While the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) is said to be actively considering a plan to join hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Maharashtra MLA Rohit Pawar has broken ranks to express his opposition to the Union government’s proposed delimitation bill. Rohit is the grand-nephew of party president and Pawar family patriarch Sharad Pawar.

NCP (SCP) working president and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, who is the senior Pawar’s daughter, indicated that they were amenable to support the BJP’s delimitation bill if it provided for a 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats for all states. This was seen as a hint that the two parties are veering closer. Sule, however, downplayed her comments later.

The NCP (SCP) has eight MPs in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha, namely party chief Sharad Pawar. It has 10 MLAs in Maharashtra. It is said that almost all but a couple of these elected representatives may be willing to join hands with the NDA. The overtures to the BJP and NDA may be meant to prevent a split in the party.

While a proposal for a merger with the Congress, which is described as a win-win for both parties, is being pushed by some in the NCP (SCP), leaders say it may be difficult to hold back elected representatives who want to be close to or part of the government of the day. A merger with the Congress could help the two parties consolidate their forces and give the Congress a strong first line of leadership in Maharashtra.

These developments come in the backdrop of six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) defecting to the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. This is seen as part of a larger effort by the Narendra Modi government to muster a two-third majority in Parliament to push the delimitation bill.

Rohit, a two-term MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed in Ahilyanagar district (formerly Ahmednagar), has expressed fears that the BJP aims at gerrymandering constituencies through the delimitation exercise. In a post on micro-blogging site X, Rohit claimed that the restructuring of constituencies will “be done without considering geographical boundaries or constitutional norms, and only to hold on to power” and alleged that a similar exercise had been undertaken in Assam.

In the post, Rohit claimed that the ruling party was dangling the carrot of a 50 per cent increase in seats across all states to get the bill approved. However, while it was making conciliatory overtures to the Opposition, it would be quick to drop this mask once the bill was approved.

“In order to change the Constitution, these tendencies are preparing earnestly for the delimitation on one hand and the SIR (Special Intensive Revision of voter lists) on the other,” he wrote. Alleging that the BJP has roped in former bureaucrats to draw up a masterplan on which constituency was to be divided and how, Rohit called for Opposition unity to counter this move.

Signalling that the NCP (SCP) has warmed up to the NDA, Sharad Pawar had met Shinde during his recent visit to the Maharashtra state legislature during the monsoon session. Later, the NCP (SCP) group leader in the legislative assembly and former finance minister Jayant Patil met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence in Mumbai, where senior NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare were also said to be present. Tatkare, however, has denied that he met Patil.

Sources say Rohit may be trying to plough a separate furrow for himself in the state’s politics. The 40-year-old is said to be eyeing the growing vacuum in the Opposition space. Sources speculate that these mixed signals by Sule and Rohit may be part of a larger strategy by the NCP (SCP) to keep its options open.

With a strong presence in the business and cooperative sectors, Rohit has won two tough elections against senior BJP leader and former minister Ram Shinde, who is now chairperson of the state legislative council. It is also said Rohit could be eyeing the family pocket borough of Baramati in Pune since the demise of his uncle and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in January. Rohit had raised several questions over Ajit’s demise.

Baramati is currently represented by Ajit’s widow Sunetra Pawar, who replaced him as deputy chief minister and national president of his faction of the NCP. There is speculation that Sunetra’s younger son Jay may contest from Baramati in the 2029 assembly election. His elder brother Parth is a Rajya Sabha MP.

While straws in the wind suggest the NCP (SCP) may join the NDA under its own banner, the BJP is said to be insistent on the party merging with the rival NCP faction led by Sunetra. A merger between the two parties had been mooted during Ajit’s lifetime, but his demise has led to the talks being stalled and put on the backburner.

Rohit is the grandson of Sharad Pawar’s elder brother Dinkarrao a.k.a. Appasaheb, who was a guide and constituency manager for his brother, while Ajit was the son of Anantrao a.k.a. Tatyasaheb, who was also Sharad’s elder sibling.

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Published By:

Shyam Balasubramanian

Published On:

Jul 21, 2026 18:39 IST