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Nationalist Congress Party

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Not to be confused with Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar.

Nationalist Congress Party
AbbreviationNCP
PresidentAjit Pawar
SpokespersonSana Malik Shaikh
Lok Sabha LeaderSunil Tatkare
Rajya Sabha LeaderPraful Patel Sunetra Pawar
FounderSharad Pawar
P. A. Sangma
Tariq Anwar
Founded10 June 1999 (25 years ago) (1999-06-10)
Split fromIndian National Congress
Headquarters10, Bishmabhar Marg, New Delhi, India-110001
Student wingNCP Student's Wing
Youth wingNCP Youth's Wing
Women's wingNCP Women Wing
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right to centrist politics[4]
Colours  Pacific Blue
ECI StatusState Party[5]
Alliance
Seats in Lok Sabha
1 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
3 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies
Indian states
40 / 288
(Maharashtra)[6]
7 / 60
(Nagaland)
3 / 60
(Arunachal Pradesh)
Seats in Maharashtra Legislative Council
8 / 78
Number of states and union territories in government
3 / 31
Election symbol
Party flag
Website
ncponline.in

The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the state parties in India.[7][8] It refers to the Ajit Pawar faction after the 2023 split in the party when the Supreme Court of India granted the original party name and symbol to the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar Faction). It was one of the major political parties in Maharashtra and was a recognised state party in Nagaland and Kerala. In July 2023, majority of the elected MLAs and MLCs of the party led by Ajit Pawar joined the National Democratic Alliance government, however, all MPs except two remained loyal to Sharad Pawar.[1][9] This caused a direct split between the Ajit Pawar-led faction and the founder and president Sharad Pawar who formed the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) after EC recognised the Ajit Pawar faction as the original party.[10]

The Nagaland state unit which was supporting the NDPP-BJP state government and the Jharkhand state unit of the party went with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP while the Kerala state unit of the party which was a part of the Left Democratic Front went with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP).

Party formation and performance

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The NCP was formed on 10 June 1999, by Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the Indian National Congress on 20 May 1999, for disputing the right of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the party.[11][12][13] When the NCP formed, the Indian Congress (Socialist) – Sarat Chandra Sinha party merged into the new party.[14]

Despite the NCP being founded on opposition to the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the party joined the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to form the government of Maharashtra in October 1999. In 2004, the party joined the UPA to form the national government led by Manmohan Singh. The NCP's leader, Sharad Pawar served as the Minister of Agriculture for both five-year terms of the Singh-led government. The party remained part of the Congress-led Maharashtra state government until 2014.[15] On 20 June 2012, P. A. Sangma left the NCP to contest the presidential election, which he lost.[16] In the April and May 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the UPA lost to the rival National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Narendra Modi and the NCP was out of government for the first time in ten years. The NCP broke its alliance with the Congress Party just before the October 2014 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections to contest them on its own.[17] In the assembly election the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party and formed a minority government, initially with support from the NCP.

In April 2019, voting took place for the 48 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra. The Congress and NCP had a seat-sharing arrangement.[18] Similarly, despite their differences, the BJP and Shiv Sena once again contested the elections together under the NDA banner.[19][20] The election was another landslide victory for the NDA, with the BJP and Shiv Sena winning 23 and 18 seats, respectively, out of the total of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress Party won only one seat in the state whereas the NCP won five seats from its stronghold of western Maharashtra.[21]

During the October 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, the BJP–Shiv-Sena and NCP–Congress alliances remained intact for seat sharing. The BJP and Shiv Sena together gained the majority of seats in the assembly but could not form a government due to disagreements between the two parties. The BJP, with 105 seats, was far short of the 145 seats required to form a majority and declined to form a minority government. As a result, Shiv Sena started talks with the NCP and Congress to form a government. However, in a controversial move, on 23 November 2019, the BJP formed a government with support from the NCP, with Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister. This government collapsed three days later with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Pawar resigning their respective positions. Finally, the NCP came back into power at the state level as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition formed with Shiv Sena and the Congress. On 28 November 2019, the Governor of Maharashtra swore in Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Thackeray's cabinet included ministers from the NCP in key portfolios.[22][23]

However, this alliance lost power in June 2022 after a rebel faction led by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde gathered the support of a majority of Sena MLAs and reestablished the previous Sena-BJP coalition.[24] Subsequently, on 20 July, NCP President Sharad Pawar dissolved almost all units of the party.[25]

Party symbol

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The election symbol of NCP is an analogue alarm clock.[26][27] The clock is drawn in blue and has two legs and an alarm button. It is situated on a tri-coloured Indian flag.[28]

2023 split

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Main article: 2023 Nationalist Congress Party split
See also: 2019 Maharashtra political crisis

In July 2023, Ajit Pawar, along with many of his supporters, left the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and joined the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP government as a Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.[29] This caused the NCP to split into two factions, with Ajit Pawar claiming in a letter to the Election Commission that he had been elected party president on June 30.[30] In his first meeting after the split, he expressed a desire to retain the party's symbol and name, urged Sharad Pawar to retire and give opportunities to new people, and criticised many of Sharad's decisions, including the formation of a government with the Shiv Sena instead of the BJP in 2019.[31] On 7 February 2024, The Election Commission Of India (ECI) awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit Pawar. The faction led by Sharad Pawar will be henceforth known as Nationalist Congress Party (SharadChandra Pawar)[32]

Controversies and criticism

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The Nationalist Congress Party has been extensively criticized for several reasons such as political corruption, insensitive comments, links to the underworld, and moral policing.

NCP leader Sharad Pawar was accused of having links to the underworld. This was revealed by former Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who had confirmed that after the March 1993 bombings in Bombay, Dawood Ibrahim had called him from London, saying that he was prepared to come to India and stand trial, on the condition that he should not be subjected to any third degree treatment from the police.[33] When Jethmalani had conveyed this to Sharad Pawar, the political leaders in power did not agree to this proposal. As per Jethmalani, their refusal to allow Dawood's return was due to their fears that he would expose their secrets.[34][35]

In May 2005, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers stormed a pub in Pune, Maharashtra, broke window panes, damaged furniture, and thrashed visitors. The move came days after Pune Police had forced five pubs to shut before the closing time of 12:30 am.[36]

On 29 November 2008, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Mumbai, NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil was forced to resign after making insensitive comments after the attack. He was quoted as saying, "They (the terrorists) came to kill 5,000 people but we ensured minimal damage".[37] When asked at a press conference whether the terror strike was an intelligence failure Patil said, "It is not like that. In big cities like this, incidents like this do happen. It's is not a total failure."[38]

On 7 April 2013, NCP leader Ajit Pawar's statement at a speech in Indapur sparked controversy due to its alleged callousness. In response to a 55-day fast by activists protesting the Maharashtra governments inability to provide water during a drought, he asked whether he should "urinate into [the dam]" to make up for the lack of water in it. After a public outcry against his statement, he publicly apologized, saying that the comment was the "biggest mistake of [his] life".[39]

In 2021, Senior Inspector Sachin Vaze, an encounter specialist, was arrested for his involvement in the Antilia bomb scare. Through an investigation, Vaze revealed that he was acting at the behest of Anil Deshmukh, who was then minister of Home Affairs.[40] Vaze and Deshmukh were also involved in collecting extortion money in December 2020 from members of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR).[41] Deshmukh was also under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate for money laundering, following accusations made by the former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh.[42]

On 23 February 2022, NCP President and leader Nawab Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case and his alleged links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.[43][44] He was charged and placed under arrest under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after several hours of grilling.

On 14 May 2022, Marathi television actress Ketaki Chitale was arrested by Mumbai Police for allegedly sharing an objectionable post about Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.[45] At the time of her arrest, NCP workers mobbed and attacked her and the officers who had arrested her. Chitale, who was molested, and her modesty was outraged by the NCP workers, and was later granted bail, was booked under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving defamatory matter) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code.[46]

Electoral performance

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General elections

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Year Lok Sabha Seats
contested 		Seats won +/- Votes polled % of
votes 		State (seats)
1999 13th Lok Sabha 32
8 / 543 (1%)
 Increase8 8,260,311 2.27%
  • Maharashtra (6)
  • Manipur (1)
  • Meghalaya (1)
2004 14th Lok Sabha 32
9 / 543 (2%)
 Increase1 7,023,175 1.80%
  • Maharashtra (9)
2009 15th Lok Sabha 68
9 / 543 (2%)
 Steady 8,521,502 1.19%
  • Maharashtra (8)
  • Meghalaya (1)
2014 16th Lok Sabha 36
6 / 543 (1%)
 Decrease3 8,635,558 1.56%
  • Maharashtra (4)
  • Bihar (1)
  • Lakshadweep(1)
2019 17th Lok Sabha 35
5 / 543 (0.9%)
 Decrease1 8,483,632 1.39%
  • Maharashtra (4)
  • Lakshadweep(1)
2024 18th Lok Sabha 4
1 / 543 (0.2%)
 Decrease4 TBD TBD
  • Maharashtra (1)

State Legislative Assembly elections

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Year Vidhan Sabha term Seats
contested 		Votes polled +/- Seats
won 		% of
votes
Goa Legislative Assembly
2017 10 20,916 Increase 1
1 / 40 (3%)
 2.28%
2022 13 10,846 Decrease1
0 / 40 (0%)
 Decrease 1.1%
Gujarat Legislative Assembly
2017 182 184,815 Decrease 1
1 / 182 (0.5%)
 0.62%
2022 2 76,949 Decrease 1
0 / 182 (0%)
 Decrease0.36%
Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
2019 7 63,320 Increase 1
1 / 81 (1%)
 0.42%
Kerala Legislative Assembly
2016 4 237,408 Steady
2 / 140 (1%)
 1.17%
2021 3 206,130 Steady
2 / 140 (1%)
 0.99%
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
1999 10th Vidhan Sabha 223 7,425,427 Increase58
58 / 288 (20%)
 22.60%
2004 11th Vidhan Sabha 124 7,841,962 Increase13
71 / 288 (25%)
 18.75%
2009 12th Vidhan Sabha 113 7,420,212 Decrease9
62 / 288 (22%)
 16.37%
2014 13th Vidhan Sabha 278 9,122,285 Decrease21
41 / 288 (14%)
 17.24%
2019 14th Vidhan Sabha 125 9,216,919 Increase13
54 / 288 (19%)
 16.71%
Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
2018 6 29,287 Decrease 1
1 / 60 (2%)
 1.83%
Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
2024 Increase 3
3 / 60 (5%)

List of Rajya Sabha Members

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No. Name Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Duration
1 Praful Patel 05-Jul-2022 02-Jul-2028 6 years, 27 days
2 Sunetra Pawar 18-Jun-2024 08-Jul-2028 3 years, 356 days
3 Nitin Patil 27-Aug-2024 08-Jul-2028 3 years, 316 days

List of Union Ministers from NCP

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No. Portrait Ministry Name
(Birth–Death) 		From To Duration Constituency
(House) 		Prime Minister
1
Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar[47]
(1940–) 		23 May 2004 22 May 2009 4 years, 364 days Baramati
(Lok Sabha) 		Manmohan I
Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution
Minister of Agriculture 23 May 2009 26 May 2014 5 years, 3 days Madha
(Lok Sabha),
Maharashtra
{Rajya Sabha (from 2014)} 		Manmohan II
Minister of Food Processing Industries 19 January 2011 26 May 2014 3 years, 127 days
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 23 May 2009 19 January 2011 1 year, 241 days
2
Minister of Civil Aviation
[MoS(I/C)] 		Praful Patel
(1957–) 		23 May 2004 22 May 2009 4 years, 364 days Maharashtra
(Rajya Sabha) 		Manmohan I
28 May 2009 19 January 2011 1 year, 236 days Manmohan II
Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises 19 January 2011 26 May 2014 3 years, 127 days
3
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
(MoS) 		Suryakanta Patil
(1948–) 		23 May 2004 22 May 2009 4 years, 364 days Hingoli
(Lok Sabha) 		Manmohan I
Minister of Rural Development
(MoS)
4
Minister of Rural Development
(MoS) 		Agatha Sangma[48]
(1980–) 		28 May 2009 27 October 2012 3 years, 152 days Tura
(Lok Sabha) 		Manmohan II
5
Minister of Food Processing Industries
(MoS) 		Tariq Anwar[49]
(1951–) 		28 October 2012 26 May 2014 1 year, 210 days Maharashtra
(Rajya Sabha)

See also

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Notes

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1.^ Praful Patel, Sunetra Pawar and Nitin Patil from Rajya Sabha and Sunil Tatkare from Lok Sabha.

References

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  1. ^ "'Ideology is secular, cannot compromise on it at all': Ajit Pawar stands firm on secularism, leaves CM question hanging in Mahayuti alliance". Business Today.
  2. ^ Rajeshwari Deshpande. (2006). Politics of Frustrations, Anxieties and Outrage. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(14), 1304–1307. JSTOR 4418041
  3. ^ PALSHIKAR, SUHAS. “In the Midst of Sub-Democratic Politics.” Economic and Political Weekly 45, no. 7 (2010): 12–16. JSTOR 25664106.
  4. ^ "'Ideology is secular, cannot compromise on it at all': Ajit Pawar stands firm on secularism, leaves CM question hanging in Mahayuti alliance". Business Today.
  5. ^ "NCP, TMC and CPI lose national party status, AAP earns coveted tag". India: India Today. 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2014: Maharashtra State Election Dates, Results, News, Governors and Cabinet Ministers 2014". dna.
  7. ^ "Recognized Political Parties:ECI". 26 September 2018.
  8. ^ "NPP Becomes First Political Outfit from the Northeast to get Status of National Party". 7 June 2019.
  9. ^ "NCP Working Committee Approves Decision To Expel NCP Leaders Including Praful Patel And Sunil Tatkare". Punekar News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  10. ^ Ajit Pawar Maharashtra Deputy Cm: Ajit Pawar joins NDA govt, takes oath as deputy CM of Maharashtra - The Economic Times
  11. ^ "Senior Congress leaders quit in Jharkhand". Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  12. ^ CWC expels threesome for six years
  13. ^ "Sangma meets Sonia Gandhi, first time in a decade". The Times of India. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Spotlight: Merger with NCP". Tribune India. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  15. ^ Suhas Palshikar; Prerna Singh; Atul Kohli (4 January 2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Politics. Routledge. pp. 92, 97. ISBN 978-1-135-12275-1.
  16. ^ "I have quit NCP, will contest presidential polls: PA Sangma". The Times of India. 29 June 2012.
  17. ^ "Congress-NCP announce seat-sharing for Maharashtra polls". 16 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Raj Thackeray, Dhananjay Munde in demand to campaign for Cong". April 11. PTI. 2019.
  19. ^ "Opinion Poll: BJP-Shiv Sena may lose 8 seats in Maharashtra, Congress-NCP to improve figures". No. March 23. New Nation. 2019.
  20. ^ "NCP will welcome BJP's decision to merge India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, says Maharashtra minister". Scroll.in. 23 November 2020.
  21. ^ "| eSakal". Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Political drama has gripped the home state of Bollywood". No. 30 November 2019. The Economist. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Maharashtra: With 169 votes, Uddhav-led govt sails through Assembly floor test, BJP stages walkout". Indian Express. No. 30 November 2019. Indian Express newspapers. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  24. ^ "36 districts, 31 departments & 2-man cabinet: No expansion of Shinde govt for 3 weeks & counting". ThePrint. 22 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Sharad Pawar Dissolves All Units Of Party, Days After Shiv Sena Coup".
  26. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. ^ "Symbols" (PDF). eci.nic.in. 2009.
  28. ^ "Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – Party History, Symbol, Founders, Election Results and News". www.elections.in.
  29. ^ "In a twist, NCP's Ajit Pawar takes oath as Maharashtra deputy CM". The Hindu. 2 July 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Ajit Pawar moves Election Commission, says he was elected NCP president on June 30". The Hindu. 5 July 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  31. ^ "From Ajit Pawar's speech: 'Stuck at DyCM, I also wish to lead state' to Sharad Pawar 'talking to BJP' several times". The Indian Express. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Sharad Pawar faction gets new name day after Ajit camp declared 'real' NCP". Express News service. New Delhi. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  33. ^ "The legend of Ram – a conversation with Ram Jethmalani". Algebra talks. Algebra. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  34. ^ "Ram Jethmalani, Sharad Pawar spar over Dawood Ibrahim". India Today. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  35. ^ "Sharad Pawar: Jethmalani's proposal on Dawood Ibrahim was conditional". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  36. ^ "Moral police hit Pune nightlife". The Indian Express. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  37. ^ Damini Berry (2 December 2008). "Minister paid dearly for the 'small incident' remark". Merinews. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  38. ^ "RR Patil has a language problem, calls attack small". News18 India. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  39. ^ "Ajit Pawar apologizes again, says 'this is biggest mistake of my life'". The Times of India. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  40. ^ "Anil Deshmukh: Rise and slow eclipse of leader who helmed ministry in many a govt". 21 March 2021.
  41. ^ "Sharad Pawar to meet Uddhav Thackeray, decision on Anil Deshmukh today". Mid-day. 22 March 2021.
  42. ^ "Deshmukh case: ED summons Maha minister Anil Parab in money laundering case". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  43. ^ Joshi, Neha (23 February 2022). "Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik remanded to 8-day ED custody in Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case". Bar and Bench. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  44. ^ Mishra, Sohit Rakesh (23 February 2022). Kumar, Akhil (ed.). "Minister Nawab Malik Arrested, Maharashtra Government Says "Won't Sack Him"". NDTV. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  45. ^ "Who is Ketaki Chitale? The Marathi actor arrested for posting derogatory remarks against Sharad Pawar". 14 May 2022.
  46. ^ ""Pawar Is Not A Religion": Actor Ketaki Chitale Who Was Jailed For Post".
  47. ^ "UPA blues continue as NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel offer to resign". The Economic Times. 20 July 2012. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  48. ^ "Cabinet reshuffle: Agatha Sangma and Vincent Pala step down". India Today. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  49. ^ https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tariq-anwar-to-get-cabinet-berth-ncp/article4038075.ec
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