Former Maharashtra agriculture minister and NCP MLA from Sinnar, Manikrao Kokate, on Tuesday backed Ajit Pawar’s family as the party’s ultimate decision-making authority, saying those opposed to its decisions should leave the organisation rather than challenge its leadership.
“Those within the party who are opposed to decisions being taken by Dada’s family should leave the party. Such elements cannot be allowed to ruin the NCP, a party for which Ajit Dada worked tirelessly to build a strong base across the state,” Kokate, a long-time loyalist of Ajit Pawar, told Hindustan Times. He, however, refrained from naming any of the leaders he was referring to.
His remarks come amid questions over the NCP’s leadership and organisational functioning following a meeting between senior party leaders and Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday, without Sunetra Pawar and her son, Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar, being part of the delegation.
The meeting was attended by national working president Praful Patel, Maharashtra unit president Sunil Tatkare, ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, and senior leaders Dilip Walse Patil and Dhananjay Munde, among others. According to party insiders, the delegation conveyed its dissatisfaction with the functioning of the organisation, particularly Parth Pawar’s growing influence over organisational decisions and appointments.
The meeting fuelled speculation about differences within the party, with reports suggesting that senior leaders wanted greater collective decision-making and were unhappy with Sunetra Pawar and her son exercising control over the organisation.
{{/usCountry}}The meeting fuelled speculation about differences within the party, with reports suggesting that senior leaders wanted greater collective decision-making and were unhappy with Sunetra Pawar and her son exercising control over the organisation.
{{/usCountry}}The NCP, however, rejected reports of internal differences in an official statement issued on Monday, describing them as “incorrect, baseless and misleading”.
Party national chief spokesperson Umesh Patil said Sunetra Pawar and Parth had met Shah earlier to discuss issues facing the party following Ajit Pawar’s death. Sunetra Pawar had informed the home minister that a delegation of senior leaders would meet him and requested an appointment for them, the statement said.
It added that the delegation discussed issues concerning their respective constituencies, state affairs and organisational matters. The interaction also included informal discussions with leaders of other Mahayuti constituents.
“Attempts are being made to give an unnecessary political twist to the meeting and create a narrative of internal differences and lack of coordination within the party. The NCP is an important constituent of the Mahayuti alliance and remains united under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar,” the statement said.
The developments come as the NCP seeks to consolidate its organisation following Ajit Pawar’s death in an air crash in January. Sunetra Pawar subsequently took over as the party’s national president and assumed the deputy chief minister’s post, while Parth Pawar has become increasingly involved in organisational matters.
The current tensions also have a history. When the Mahayuti government returned to power in December 2024, Ajit Pawar inducted Kokate into the cabinet as agriculture minister, while senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, one of the party’s prominent leaders from Nashik, was left out.
Kokate, however, stepped down from the cabinet in December 2025 after a Nashik court upheld his conviction in a housing fraud case and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment. The Bombay High Court subsequently suspended his sentence and granted him bail.
The latest developments have brought the NCP’s leadership and decision-making structure into focus, particularly the role of senior leaders in organisational matters under Sunetra Pawar.