Mitkari urges NCP self-introspection after Legislative Council poll results, warns of cost to party

Results of the elections to five Legislative Council seats in the state are out. The Mahayuti won three of the five seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi got two. One of the contests was a direct fight between the two NCP factions.

In the Marathwada graduates' constituency, Pratapsingh Patil was the candidate of Sharad Pawar's NCP, while Ajit Pawar's NCP fielded Satish Chavan. Chavan lost, which has left NCP leaders disappointed. After party working president Praful Patel, former MLA Amol Mitkari has now also held up a mirror to the party from within, in a post on X.

Mitkari said the politics of stepping forward to claim credit when an election result favours the party, and shrugging off responsibility when circumstances go against it, must now end. According to him, when political opportunities were slipping from the party's hands, it should have been examined exactly where the mistake was made, at what level communication broke down, and why potential political strength went out of the party. Mitkari also said that leadership is not respected merely by raising slogans on a stage; the leadership's decisions have to be made to succeed on the ground.

Mitkari also referred to the victories of Harshada Jadhav-Deshmukh and Kiran Sarnaik. He said these wins have placed an important lesson before the NCP: capable people with political ambition, if not given timely communication, the right opportunity and trust, carve out their own path. According to Mitkari, it is then more important to introspect on why they drifted away from the party than to analyse their victories. In doing so, he took a dig at the party's senior leaders.

Mitkari said that what is needed today is not to blame one another but to fix responsibility. He said every level of the party should introspect to further strengthen the leadership of "Sunetra Bhabhi". Otherwise, the party may have to pay in the coming elections for the organisation's shortcomings. He also said it is easy to shrug off responsibility after the party has suffered a loss, but not letting the party suffer a loss at all is the test of true leadership.

Earlier, Praful Patel had also posted on X. He wrote that today's Legislative Council results are a clear and important warning. To win back people's trust, reset the party's priorities and reform the organisation, immediate and stern introspection is needed. Political circles are now discussing that Patel has, without naming anyone, publicly advised the party leadership directly.