The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has been known since its inception as the party run by Maratha leaders in the interest of the Maratha community and has had its base mainly in a few districts of Western Maharashtra that are dominated by the Maratha community.

After the unfortunate and tragic death of NCP president Ajit Pawar, the big question being raised in political circles is who will take over the legacy of the Pawars and control the Maratha voter base, which is quite significant in numbers in Western Maharashtra and Marathwada. It is becoming very clear that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and leader of Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde is now a contender for this space.

While Maharashtra's attention was focused on the aftermath of Ajit Pawar's sudden demise, the regional media was mainly focused on what was happening inside the NCP.

Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena seems to have moved swiftly in the Western Maharashtra districts of Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur to engineer some vote transfer in the district council polls from the NCP to the Shiv Sena, using the Maratha plank.

It is obvious that the Maratha community now is slightly confused about the future of the NCP. They seem to be in two minds whether to........

© Free Press Journal