Big jolt to Ajit Pawar as two dozen city leaders join Sharad Pawar's NCP

 July 17 (IANS) Spelling a setback for Nationalist Congress Party President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, around two dozen office-bearers of Pimpri-Chinchwad hitched on to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, here on Wednesday. A beaming Sharad Pawar personally welcomed the office-bearers, comprising 20 ex-municipal corporators including several women, to the NCP (SP) fold offering them the party flags, stoles and his blessings, in the presence of other party leaders at a small function held at his residence. Among the prominent ones who switched sides include the former NCP city president Ajit Gavhane, executive president Rahul Bhosale, student wing chief Yash Sane, Bhosari assembly seat head Pankaj Bhalekar, and around 20 former municipal corporators and other unit heads. They had submitted their resignations to NCP state President Sunil Tatkare while Sane had sent in his papers to the NCP Student Wing President Prashant Kadam earlier this week and crossed over to the NCP (SP) on Wednesday. The rattling development came ahead of Sharad Pawar’s upcoming rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Saturday (July 20), and more NCP leaders-office-bearers from other parts of Pune district are likely to follow suit, with the state Assembly elections barely three months away. Some of the office-bearers like Gavhane were reportedly peeved at not getting an NCP ticket for the Lok Sabha polls or lost all hopes for the upcoming Assembly elections from the NCP and hopped over to the NCP (SP), said a Pune leader. --IANS qn/uk