Praful Patel, Tatkare regain clout in NCP amid leadership tussle

Mumbai: The nomination of Rajendra Jain to the Rajya Sabha and Aniket Tatkare’s election to the state council have enabled Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare to reassert their authority within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sunetra Pawar.

Ahead of the party’s 27th anniversary on June 10, the developments signal that their influence in the organisation remains intact.

The brief but intense attempt to sideline Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare within the NCP recently marked a major flashpoint in the party’s internal evolution. Following the tragic passing of Ajit Pawar, the sudden rise of the “Pawar Gen-Next” cohort — centered around Parth Pawar and newly appointed party president Sunetra Pawar — threatened to centralise all decision-making authority within a tight familial orbit.

The rift became public when Sunetra Pawar submitted a list of national office-bearers to the Election Commission (EC) on April 29, which conspicuously omitted both Patel and Tatkare. Although both Patel and Tatkare were inducted into the newly constituted national working committee, their designations as the party’s national working president and Maharashtra unit chief, respectively, were missing. Instead, Patel was mentioned as the NCP leader in the Rajya Sabha and Tatkare as the NCP leader in the Lok Sabha.

However, within a matter of weeks, the veteran duo pulled off an institutional counter-manoeuvre, firmly re-establishing their hold and prominence over the party’s machinery. The party spokesman had to announce that both Patel and Tatkare continue to assume their posts while citing the lack of mention of their designations as a “clerical error”.

Despite Parth Pawar calling the shots in the party, Tatkare was not only able to get the NCP’s nomination for his son Aniket from Raigad Ratnagiri Sindhudurg local government constituency, but also secure a tacit support from the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Aniket was elected unopposed after Shiv Sena withdrew its nominee.

On the other hand, the ultimate confirmation of the re-established dominance of Patel was delivered during the selection of the Rajya Sabha nominee for the seat vacated by Sunetra Pawar. Ambitious party insiders and regional heavyweights like Chhagan Bhujbal, who hoped to leverage the generational divide to secure the Delhi berth, were systematically neutralised or bypassed.

By securing the nomination for Rajendra Jain — Praful Patel’s absolute confidant and the party’s organisational anchor in Eastern Vidarbha — the duo achieved two critical goals. They proved that the party’s political rewards still flow through their approval, not just the family’s signatures. They retained structural equity within the Upper House, ensuring that Delhi remains Patel’s administrative playground.

By fielding Patel’s closest ally for the Rajya Sabha, Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar have effectively signalled a truce, ensuring Patel’s stature within the organisation remains undiminished. Insiders comment that this decision is less about Jain’s entry into Parliament and more about securing Praful Patel’s position in the party hierarchy.

Praful Patel remains the NCP’s primary bridge to the central BJP leadership in New Delhi. With the assembly elections approaching, the BJP requires experienced, national-level negotiators who understand coalition politics, not a localized family circle. By demonstrating their deep connections with top-tier BJP leaders, Patel and Tatkare made it clear that sidelining them would disrupt the party’s standing within the Mahayuti alliance.

Rumours deliberately circulated by opposition camps, such as Rohit Pawar’s claims that Patel, Tatkare, and 22 MLAs might directly merge into or contest on BJP tickets, acted as an effective pressure valve — forcing the Pawar family to realize that breaking the veteran spine would lead to the total disintegration of the party.

In a masterclass of political signalling, Tatkare chose the height of the snub to pay a highly publicised visit to Sharad Pawar at his residence, ostensibly to check on the senior leader’s health. This move sent shockwaves through the ruling NCP.

Sharad Pawar immediately capitalised on the moment, publicly praising the capabilities of Patel and Tatkare and subtly mocking the new leadership’s lack of political judgment. This clever piece of political theatre signalled to the Sunetra-Parth camp that if they pushed the veterans too hard, Patel and Tatkare possessed the leverage and historical goodwill to reopen communication channels with the NCP (SP), threatening the family’s core base.

Tatkare, however, on Monday downplayed that they were being sidelined but claimed that he and Patel continue to play a major role in NCP’s consolidation under the able leadership of Sunetra Pawar. He thereby indicated that all is well within the party and they are capable of weathering any storm while spreading the party’s wings ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.

In a nutshell, the attempt by the younger generation to transition the NCP into a tightly run family-controlled party with new faces failed because it lacked institutional maturity. Patel and Tatkare demonstrated that while the Pawar surname carries local electoral value, the veteran network commands the legal, financial, and alliance architecture required to run a political party. By asserting their constitutional authority and leveraging their alliance value, they succeeded the NCP, returning to a co-governance model.

–IANS