NCP (SP) Thane Chief Suhas Desai Shifts Loyalty to Ajit Pawar’s NCP

In a dramatic political flip that has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra's opposition circles, Suhas Desai, the city president of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), defected to the rival Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The switch, involving over two dozen loyal supporters, unfolded at a high-profile ceremony at the NCP office in Thane this morning, spotlighting the intensifying factional warfare just months before crucial rural and urban civic elections.

Desai's high-profile crossover is being hailed as a significant blow to the NCP (SP)'s organizational strength in the strategically vital Thane-Palghar belt, a region critical for upcoming polls including those for the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). Ajit Pawar, the NCP president and a key figure in the ruling Mahayuti coalition alongside the BJP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), personally welcomed Desai and his group into the fold. The event drew senior party heavyweights like former MP Anand Paranjpe and Thane district president Najeeb Mulla, underscoring the Ajit Pawar camp's aggressive expansion drive.

Adding a layer of personal sting, the joining function was deliberately staged right opposite the bungalow of Jitendra Awhad, a prominent NCP (SP) MLA and former state minister who has been a vocal critic of Ajit Pawar's split from Sharad Pawar in 2023. NCP leaders wasted no time in framing the defection as a "massive jolt" to Awhad's influence and the Sharad Pawar faction's local machinery. "This is a clear sign that workers are gravitating towards development and governance, not empty rhetoric," quipped one NCP insider, pointing to Ajit Pawar's role in the state government as a magnet for defectors.

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The move comes amid a flurry of similar crossovers in recent months, including two close aides of Awhad who jumped ship in February 2025 citing funding shortages for local projects and mounting legal pressures. Earlier in September, Thane Municipal Opposition Leader Prakash Burde reversed course by leaving Ajit Pawar's side to join Sharad Pawar's group, highlighting the fluid and fiercely contested loyalties in Maharashtra's political landscape. Analysts view Desai's switch as part of a broader pattern where the ruling alliance is poaching mid-level leaders from opposition ranks to consolidate its edge in civic bodies, potentially reshaping voter alignments in urban strongholds like Thane.

For the NCP (SP), already reeling from the 2023 schism that saw Ajit Pawar claim the official NCP symbol and a chunk of the party's infrastructure, this latest exodus amplifies concerns over cadre erosion. Party spokespersons downplayed the impact, insisting on robust grassroots mobilization, but insiders admit the timing—mere weeks before candidate announcements for civic polls—could disrupt campaign strategies. As Maharashtra gears up for a high-stakes electoral season, Desai's defection exemplifies the cutthroat "power-sharing" dynamics that continue to define the Pawar family's fractured legacy, leaving Sharad Pawar's camp scrambling to stem further bleeding.

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