With Eknath Shinde’s rebellion splitting the Shiv Sena and dramatically altering political equations in Maharashtra, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has dissolved its departments and cells with immediate effect.
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According to sources, the object of the exercise is to reorganise the party structure following the collapse of the tripartite ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ government (of the Sena, the NCP and the Congress) in the State in which the NCP was a key component.
An office order issued by the NCP’s Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel, who is also the party’s national general secretary, read: “With approval of national president, Nationalist Congress party, Sharad Pawar, all departments and cells stand dissolved with immediate effect.”
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The move comes three weeks after Mr. Shinde’s revolt helped topple the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray. While Mr. Thackeray was CM, it was Sharad Pawar who was widely considered the ‘architect’ and moving force behind this unlikely and ideologically-opposed coalition whose avowed aim was to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at bay.
Yet, Mr. Shinde’s rebellion, aided by the BJP, changed all that. Given the continuing exodus of senior Sena leader into Mr. Shinde’s rebel camp, the revolt is also giving headaches to both the NCP and the Congress, who are worried of their MLAs jumping ship to join the new BJP-Sena (Shinde faction) coalition.
Observers say that it is perhaps to stave off a ‘domino effect’ of Mr. Shinde’s rebellion from rubbing-off onto his party that Mr. Pawar has ordered this organisational overhaul.
Furthermore, with Mr. Thackeray steadily losing grip over his party, the future of the MVA coalition appears bleak as it seems unlikely that the three parties will contest future polls together.