As the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) continues to deal with the fallout of an internal power struggle, a familiar political figure is increasingly at the centre of it.
Days after he met with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth, a Rajya Sabha MP, poll strategist-turned-newly elected Bihar MLA Prashant Kishor’s suggestion that the party change its state leadership has turned into bad news for the party’s state president Sunil Tatkare, adding a new dimension to the growing contest over who controls the NCP after Ajit Pawar’s death.
Advertisement
The latest challenge to Tatkare has come from Bhausaheb Gore, an NCP leader from Jalna who has approached the Election Commission (EC) questioning his reappointment as state president. The process did not follow the party’s rules, Gore has alleged.
“The presidency of Sunil Tatkare ended in July. But in February 2026, when Sunetra Pawar was appointed as party national president after the death of Ajit Pawar, Tatkare too was reappointed as Maharashtra state president. There was no notification for it, no observers for the poll, no election officer, no chance to file nominations for others,” Gore said.
Also Read | Election Commission seeks NCP records as rivals call Sunetra Pawar’s election “void”
Tatkare was one of the closest lieutenants of the late Ajit Pawar and the pressure on him is part of the larger tug-of-war between the Pawars and the NCP organisational leadership helmed by him and Praful Patel.
Advertisement
Kishor’s suggestion of an organisational overhaul and a change in the state leadership comes at a time when Parth Pawar, the son of the Deputy CM and the late Ajit Pawar, has increasingly taken on an active role in the party. Tatkare has said he does not know about Kishor’s recommendation.
Simmering differences
The differences in the party began surfacing more openly after Ajit Pawar’s death. In March, Sunetra Pawar wrote to the EC asking it to disregard correspondence sent on behalf of the NCP after her husband’s death. She was referring to an amended party constitution submitted by working president Praful Patel and Tatkare, which brought the working president on par with the party president.
Around the same time, in the national executive list submitted to the EC, the names of Tatkare and Patel were omitted. Though the omission was later described as a clerical error, it fuelled speculation over the position of the two senior leaders.
The differences became harder to conceal earlier this month when Tatkare and Patel met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis amid reports that the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) could support the NDA on the proposed Delimitation Bill. Sunetra Pawar was unhappy that she had not been informed about the meeting, it was learnt. The following day, Parth met Fadnavis, with sources saying he wanted the Deputy CM to be kept informed about future interactions with senior NCP leaders.
The internal churn continued with a legal challenge to Sunetra Pawar’s election as national president and Patel’s public call for “corrective measures”. Party vice president Udaykumar Aher also wrote a letter alleging that “certain people” were trying to end Parth Pawar’s political career and demanded a Union Cabinet berth for him.
The pressure on Tatkare has since become more visible. Pune NCP leader Rupali Thombre questioned the continuation of party leaders in organisational posts.
Also Read | To Congress’ ‘Goongi Gudiya’ dig on Sunetra Pawar, NCP has an Indira Gandhi clapback
“Every post has a timeline. A good performance gives you promotion, while bad performance snatches your post before completing tenure. The culture of democracy is to leave the post with dignity. Why this desperation to stick to the post? The rules were clear when others were sacked; then what is the reason behind unease when it comes to you?” she said, without naming Tatkare.
Another NCP leader, Umesh Patil, considered close to Parth Pawar, has also made a cryptic social media post calling for allegiance to the Pawar family.
An influential leader
Tatkare’s camp has largely stayed out of the public exchanges. A senior NCP leader defended him and said there had been no indication from Sunetra Pawar that she wanted him to step down.
“There has been no indication from Sunetra Pawar and she has not asked him to resign. With over 40 years of experience in politics, Tatkare knows when to retire and how to hand over the baton,” the leader said.
Tatkare’s position carries weight because of the political journey that brought him to the centre of the NCP. A long-time Ajit Pawar confidant, he is one of the party’s prominent OBC leaders and has held key portfolios in the Maharashtra Government, including water resources, finance and planning, energy, food and civil supplies, and urban development and ports. He served as the NCP’s state president between 2015 and 2018 before returning to the post after the 2023 split.
Also Read | After Bankipur bypoll win, PK stirs Mumbai waters, meets top NCP leaders
His political base remains Raigad, where he won the Lok Sabha election twice in 2019 and 2024. His daughter Aditi Tatkare is also a prominent NCP leader and a minister in the state Cabinet.
The recent pressure on Tatkare is not because he has become irrelevant to the organisation. On the contrary, he remains a politically important leader with his own base and a long association with Ajit Pawar. But for Parth Pawar, who is now seeking to establish himself in a party once dominated by his father, the continued influence of the old guard could leave limited space for him to shape and run the organisation on his own terms.