Pune: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-anticipated rally in Pune on Thursday, all eyes are now on Sharad Pawar's scheduled public meeting on Friday, September 27.
The rally, set to take place at Zensar Company grounds in Kharadi at 6 PM, is expected to see the defection of several prominent leaders to Pawar’s party, sparking interest in political circles regarding which party will face losses as a result.
The timing of Pawar’s rally, coming immediately after Modi’s visit, adds to its significance as both events play into the growing momentum around the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Leaders switching political allegiance during Pawar's rally could have far-reaching implications for electoral strategies across parties.
Prashant Jagtap, the President of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), has revealed that the NCP is preparing extensively for the Assembly elections.
The party has already invited applications from potential candidates across Pune’s eight Assembly constituencies. Interviews will be conducted in the coming days as part of the candidate selection process.
After the party’s success in the Lok Sabha elections, interest in joining the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has surged, with many leaders and former MLAs eager to become members.
According to sources, the formal inclusion of these leaders will take place in phases, with Friday’s rally expected to be the first major announcement.
This rally has heightened political tensions as Modi’s visit, scheduled for Thursday, September 26, will inaugurate the Shivajinagar-Swargate underground Metro line, along with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Swargate-Katraj Metro extension.
The event is expected to draw large crowds at the BJP-organized rally at Sir Parshurambhau College. Notably, during his previous campaign in Pune, Modi had aimed sharp criticism at Pawar, referring to him as a “wandering soul,” which had triggered a heated exchange of words between the two leaders.
Pawar had quickly responded to Modi’s remarks during a joint rally with former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Warje, where the duo strongly countered the Prime Minister's comments.
With this backdrop, political analysts are closely observing Modi’s upcoming speech to see whether he repeats his critical stance against Pawar, and if so, how Pawar will retaliate during his Friday rally.