With an aim to contest upcoming local body polls, the Ajit Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is holding its first ever convention in Nagpur. The two-day convention will begin on September 18, 2025. It has named the convention as ‘Chintan Shibir’, which will witness brainstorming sessions on party’s future in this part of the State. Party Supremo and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Working President Praful Patel, State President Sunil Tatkare, all the nine ministers, State office-bearers, MLAs, MLCs, various district heads will attend the convention. Senior party functionary in Mumbai told ‘The Hitavada’, “Ajitdada is likely to arrive at Nagpur on the night of September 17, 2025. He is expected to stay for three full days in Nagpur. This is for the first time that he would be staying for so long in Nagpur. Party wants to establish its presence in Nagpur and Vidarbha. Party is considering this convention as the stepping stone for its growth in this region.”

 

The Nagpur incharge of the party Rajendra Jain has been bestowed upon with the responsibility of choosing the venue. He will finalise the venue in a day or two. In those two days, the convention will hold various sessions, where the leaders will guide the others. Secondly, leaders like Pawar, Patel, Tatkare and others will listen to the issues of the workers, office-bearers so that those can be resolved for the better future plans. Through this ‘Chintan Shibir’,party is contemplating a strategy for the upcoming local body elections including Municipal Corporation, Council, Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti. “Party doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned. As we are there in Western Maharashtra and Mumbai, we want to strengthen our party’s prospects in Vidarbha too.

 

We will also try to know about the party’s future performance in changing scenario in Nagpur and Vidarbha,” said this functionary on condition of anonymity. It is a fact that except Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), no other party has established its presence in Vidarbha. Whichever party gets major seats in Vidarbha acquires power in the State. Over the years, the Congress has been winning maximum seats till 1995 when BJP-Shiv Sena alliance reigned supreme and formed Government in State. Now Ajit Pawar’s NCP is trying to strengthen its base in Vidarbha. Last occasion, it had indicated that it would contest on 40 seats in municipal polls. The ‘Chintan Shibir’ of NCP (Ajit Pawar) will decide the future direction. It will also try to attract people from Sharad Pawar faction.

 

 

Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction too is planning to contest polls, especially in Vidarbha. Its East Vidarbha Head Kiran Pandav is actively participating in various minor polls. He along with Dr Parinay Fuke of BJP and Praful Patel of NCP (AP) campaigned for Bhandara Cooperative Bank polls. In Gadchiroli, under the leadership of Pandav, the party has already won three municipal councils and two in Wardha. According to highly placed sources, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Shinde has asked Pandav to initiate preparations for local body polls in East Vidarbha.

 

In Nagpur, Sumukh Mishra, a former NSUI President has been bestowed upon with the responsibility of City Working President, giving a clear indication that it wants to make its foundation in Vidarbha stronger. MLC Krupal Tumane and Minister Ashish Jaiswal are the strong leaders in East Vidarbha who will brighten party’s prospects. Reliable sources told ‘The Hitavada’, “Eknath Shinde too is contemplating to hold a convention in Nagpur where he wants to chalk out a future strategy for the party.”