The Nationalist Congress Party (abbr. NCP) is one of the state parties in India.[9][10] The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism.[2] It is one of the major political parties in Maharashtra, 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 are[11] expected to remain loyal to Sharad Pawar. This caused a direct split between the Ajit Pawar-led NCP Faction and the Founder and President of the party Sharad Pawar.[12]
Party formation and performance
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.[13][14][15] When the NCP formed, the Indian Congress (Socialist) – Sarat Chandra Sinha party merged into the new party.[16]
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.[17] On 20 June 2012, P. A. Sangma left the NCP to contest the presidential election, which he lost.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] Similarly, despite their differences, the BJP and Shiv Sena once again contested the elections together under the NDA banner.[21][22] 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.[23]
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.[24][25]
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.[26] Subsequently, on 20 July, NCP President Sharad Pawar dissolved almost all units of the party.[27]
Ideology
The Mumbai President of the NCP Nawab Malik said that the party advocates for Indian reunification, the proposal that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh become one country. Malik compared this to German reunification: "If the Berlin wall can be demolished then why not India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh come together?"[28]
Party symbol
The election symbol of NCP is an analogue alarm clock.[29][30] The clock is drawn in blue and has two legs and an alarm button. It is situated on a tri-coloured Indian flag.[31]
2023 split
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.[32] 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.[33] 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.[34]
Party leadership
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The party's primary base is the state of Maharashtra and its leadership reflects that. Since the 1980s, Indian politics has become more dynastic, possibly due to the absence of a party organization, independent civil society associations that mobilize support for the party, and centralized financing of elections.[35] This phenomenon is seen from the national level down to the district level. In that regard, the NCP is considered the party with the highest level of dynasticism in Indian politics.[36] The party founder, Sharad Pawar has many members of his family such as his daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar holding prominent positions in the party.
National Executive
National Office Branch
| Sr No. | Name | Party | Other Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Sharad Pawar |
National President |
Kilo |
| 02 | Supriya Sule | National Working President and | |
| 03 | Yoganand Shastri | National General Secretary |
|
| 04 | K K Sharma | National General Secretary | NA |
| 05 | Mohammed Faizal P. P | National General Secretary | |
| 06 | Narendra B Verma | National General Secretary | NA |
| 07 | Jitendra Awhad | National General Secretary |
|
| 8 | Y. P. Trivedi | National Treasure |
|
| 9 | S R kohil | Permanent Secretary | NA |
National Secretaries
| Sr No. | Name | Party Post | Other Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mr. Rajeev jha | National Secretary | NA |
| 02 | Mr. Hemant Takle | National Secretary | NA |
| 03 | Mr. Sachidanand Singh | National Secretary | NA |
| 04 | Mr. Brij Mohan Sirvastava | National Secretary | NA |
| 05 | Mr. Rajendra Jain | National Secretary | NA |
Spokespersons
| Sr No. | Name | Party Post | Other Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nawab Malik | Senior National Spokesperson | NA |
| 02 | Mr. Narendra Verma | National Spokesperson |
|
| 03 | Mr. Brij Mohan Sirvastava | National Spokesperson |
|
| 04 | Mr. Dheeraj Sharma | National Spokesperson |
|
| 05 | Mr. Clyde Crasto | National Spokesperson | NA |
| 06 | Ms. Sonia Doohan | Spokesperson |
|
| 07 | Dr. Ms. Seema Malik | Spokesperson |
|
Office Superintendent
| Sr No. | Name | Party Post | Other Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mr. Chandan Bose | Superintendent | NA |
Working Committee Members
| Sr No. | Name | Party Post | Other Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Sharad Pawar |
National President and Member | |
| 02 | Supriya Sule | National Working President and Member | |
| 03 | T. P. Peethambaram Master | Member | NA |
| 04 | K. K. Sharma | Member | NA |
| 05 | Fouzia Khan | Member | |
| 06 | Jayant Patil | Member | |
| 07 | A. K. Saseendran | Member | NA |
| 08 | S. R. kohil | Member | NA |
| 09 | P. C. Chacko | Member | NA |
| 10 | Yoganand Shastri | Member | NA |
| 11 | Mohammed Faizal P. P | Member | NA |
| 12 | Nawab Malik | Member | NA |
| 13 | Narendra Verma | Member | NA |
| 14 | Jitendra Awhad | Member | NA |
| 15 | Y. P. Trivedi | Member | NA |
| 16 | Vandana Chavan | Member | NA |
| 17 | Amol Kolhe | Member | NA |
| 18 | Shriniwas Patil | Member | NA |
| 19 | Dheeraj Sharma | Member | NA |
| 20 | Sonia Doohan | Member | NA |
| 21 | Thomas T Thomas | Member | NA |
| 22 | Saleng Sangma | Member | NA |
| 23 | Madhukar Kukde | Member | NA |
Electoral performance
General elections
| Year | Lok Sabha | Seats contested |
Seats won | +/- | Votes polled | % of votes |
State (seats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 13th Lok Sabha | 32 | 8 / 543 (1%) |
 8 |
8,260,311 | 2.27% |
|
| 2004 | 14th Lok Sabha | 32 | 9 / 543 (2%) |
1 |
7,023,175 | 1.80% |
|
| 2009 | 15th Lok Sabha | 68 | 9 / 543 (2%) |
 |
8,521,502 | 1.19% |
|
| 2014 | 16th Lok Sabha | 36 | 6 / 543 (1%) |
 3 |
8,635,558 | 1.56% |
|
| 2019 | 17th Lok Sabha | 35 | 5 / 543 (0.9%) |
1 |
8,483,632 | 1.39% |
|
State Legislative Assembly elections
| Year | Vidhan Sabha term | Seats contested |
Votes polled | +/- | Seats won |
% of votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goa Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| 2017 | 10 | 20,916 | 1 |
1 / 40 (3%) |
2.28% | |||
| 2022 | 13 | 10,846 | 1 |
0 / 40 (0%) |
1.1% | |||
| Gujarat Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| 2017 | 182 | 184,815 | 1 |
1 / 182 (0.5%) |
0.62% | |||
| 2022 | 2 | 76,949 | 1 |
0 / 182 (0%) |
0.36% | |||
| Jharkhand Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| 2019 | 7 | 63,320 | 1 |
1 / 81 (1%) |
0.42% | |||
| Kerala Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| 2016 | 4 | 237,408 | |
2 / 140 (1%) |
1.17% | |||
| 2021 | 3 | 206,130 | |
2 / 140 (1%) |
0.99% | |||
| Maharashtra Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| 1999 | 10th Vidhan Sabha | 223 | 7,425,427 | 58 |
58 / 288 (20%) |
22.60% | ||
| 2004 | 11th Vidhan Sabha | 124 | 7,841,962 | 13 |
71 / 288 (25%) |
18.75% | ||
| 2009 | 12th Vidhan Sabha | 113 | 7,420,212 | 9 |
62 / 288 (22%) |
16.37% | ||
| 2014 | 13th Vidhan Sabha | 278 | 9,122,285 | 21 |
41 / 288 (14%) |
17.24% | ||
| 2019 | 14th Vidhan Sabha | 125 | 9,216,919 | 13 |
54 / 288 (19%) |
16.71% | ||
| Meghalaya Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| 2018 | 6 | 29,287 | 1 |
1 / 60 (2%) |
1.83% | |||
List of Rajya Sabha members
| No. | Name | Date of Appointment | Date of Retirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sharad Pawar | 03-Apr-2020 | 02-Apr-2026 |
| 2 | Fouzia Khan | 03-Apr-2020 | 02-Apr-2026 |
| 3 | Vandana Chavan | 03-Apr-2018 | 02-Apr-2024 |
State/Union Territorial President and in-charge
This is a list of the official state, territorial and regional committees of the Nationalist Congress Party.
See also
Notes
- 1.^ Praful Patel from Rajya Sabha and Sunil Tatkare from Lok Sabha.
References
- ↑ "Loss of national status: Sharad Pawar's clout, its Maharashtra base constant, NCP won't fret much". 11 April 2023.
- 1 2 "Pawar praises Uddhav; says NCP committed to Gandhi-Nehru ideology". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 10 September 2021.
- 1 2 Jha, Giridhar (25 November 2019). "Maharashtra Govt Formation: BJP's Return Into Ring Makes Scene Murkier". Outlook. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- ↑ Sujata Anandan (21 August 2017). "NCP's Sharad Pawar is riding two horses. A fall is inevitable". Scroll.in.
- ↑ Rajeshwari Deshpande. (2006). Politics of Frustrations, Anxieties and Outrage. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(14), 1304–1307. JSTOR 4418041
- ↑ PALSHIKAR, SUHAS. “In the Midst of Sub-Democratic Politics.” Economic and Political Weekly 45, no. 7 (2010): 12–16. JSTOR 25664106.
- ↑ "Maharashtra: The political crisis brewing in India's richest state". BBC News. 23 June 2022. |quote = "...the centrist NCP and the Congress, along with independent lawmakers."|
- ↑ "NCP, TMC and CPI lose national party status, AAP earns coveted tag Dated 10.04.2023". India: India Today. 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ↑ "Recognized Political Parties:ECI". 26 September 2018.
- ↑ "NPP Becomes First Political Outfit from the Northeast to get Status of National Party". 7 June 2019.
- ↑ "NCP Working Committee Approves Decision To Expel NCP Leaders Including Praful Patel And Sunil Tatkare". Punekar News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ↑ Ajit Pawar Maharashtra Deputy Cm: Ajit Pawar joins NDA govt, takes oath as deputy CM of Maharashtra - The Economic Times
- ↑ "Senior Congress leaders quit in Jharkhand". Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ↑ CWC expels threesome for six years
- ↑ "Sangma meets Sonia Gandhi, first time in a decade". The Times of India. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
- ↑ "Spotlight: Merger with NCP". Tribune India. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ↑ Suhas Palshikar; Prerna Singh; Atul Kohli (4 January 2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Politics. Routledge. pp. 92, 97. ISBN 978-1-135-12275-1.
- ↑ "I have quit NCP, will contest presidential polls: PA Sangma". The Times of India. 29 June 2012.
- ↑ "Congress-NCP announce seat-sharing for Maharashtra polls". 16 September 2019.
- ↑ "Raj Thackeray, Dhananjay Munde in demand to campaign for Cong". April 11. PTI. 2019.
- ↑ "Opinion Poll: BJP-Shiv Sena may lose 8 seats in Maharashtra, Congress-NCP to improve figures". No. March 23. New Nation. 2019.
- ↑ "NCP will welcome BJP's decision to merge India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, says Maharashtra minister". Scroll.in. 23 November 2020.
- ↑ "| eSakal". Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ↑ "Political drama has gripped the home state of Bollywood". No. 30 November 2019. The Economist. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "36 districts, 31 departments & 2-man cabinet: No expansion of Shinde govt for 3 weeks & counting". 22 July 2022.
- ↑ "Sharad Pawar Dissolves All Units Of Party, Days After Shiv Sena Coup".
- ↑ "NCP will welcome BJP's decision to merge India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, says Maharashtra minister". Scroll.in. 23 November 2020.
- ↑ "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) - ↑ "Symbols" (PDF). eci.nic.in. 2009.
- ↑ "Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – Party History, Symbol, Founders, Election Results and News". www.elections.in.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Chhibber⇑, Pradeep (March 2013). "Dynastic parties Organization, finance and impact". Party Politics. 19 (2): 277–295. doi:10.1177/1354068811406995. S2CID 144781444.
- ↑ Kanchan Chandra (28 April 2016). Democratic Dynasties: State, Party, and Family in Contemporary Indian Politics. Cambridge University Press. p. 131,136. ISBN 978-1-316-59212-0.
- ↑ "Seema Malik on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Original Hosted Website Of NCP from 2007 AD (originally https://www.nationalistcongressparty.com)
| Members |
| _Logo.svg.png.webp){kind=logo} | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaders |
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| Chief Ministers of Kerala | ||||||||