Major Blow to Sharad Pawar’s NCP in Mumbai: Rakhee Jadhav Joins BJP Ahead of BMC Elections

Mumbai: With just a day remaining for the nomination process in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has suffered a significant setback. Former NCP leader and 2017 BMC winner Rakhee Jadhav has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of BJP MLA Parag Shah.

Rakhee Jadhav, who won as a corporator from Ghatkopar in 2017 and later served as the NCP leader in the BMC house, has now shifted allegiance to BJP. According to her social media biography, she also served as the president of NCP (Sharad Pawar) Mumbai. Her full name is Rakhee Harishchandra Jadhav.

BMC Elections Scheduled for January 15
Voting for the Mumbai BMC elections will take place on 15 January, with results announced on 16 January. BJP aims to secure a majority on its own to elect a mayor. While BJP is contesting with support from Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Thackeray brothers (Uddhav and Raj Thackeray) have formed an alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS. The Congress has joined hands with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, while Ajit Pawar-led NCP is contesting independently.

NCP’s Position Remains Unclear
Sharad Pawar’s NCP has not yet clarified its stance in Mumbai. Discussions suggest that the Thackeray faction might leave a few seats for NCP. The last date for filing nominations is 30 December, followed by scrutiny, withdrawal, and allocation of election symbols. In the 2017 BMC elections, the unified NCP won nine seats, Congress 31, Shiv Sena 84, and BJP 82, after which Shiv Sena formed the mayoral post. The 2022-elected body completed its term, and since then, the BMC has been under administrative control.

Another Setback for Sharad Pawar
This development comes amid Ajit Pawar’s announcement of uniting both factions. Ajit Pawar’s NCP plans to contest jointly with Sharad Pawar’s party in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Earlier, Pune city president Prashant Jagtap resigned, prompting Supriya Sule to step in to stabilize the party in Pune. Rakhee Jadhav’s defection marks another blow to Sharad Pawar at a critical juncture.