Justice D Y Chandrachud formally takes oath as new Chief Justice of India

Mumbai: The sudden death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in his hometown of Baramati has plunged the state into political uncertainty, raising a pressing question for both the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its rival faction, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar): what next?

For the two factions that emerged after the dramatic split of June–July 2023, the moment marks their gravest challenge yet. Many believe the answer now rests with party founder Sharad Pawar.

Sharad Pawar, who founded the NCP in 1999 after parting ways with the Congress over Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, has already indicated his intention to step away from electoral politics once his Rajya Sabha term ends in April 2026.

Speaking at a public event in Baramati ahead of his 85th birthday on December 12, 2025, Pawar said he would not contest any further elections. “I have contested 14 elections. The younger generation needs to be given an opportunity,” he said, adding that he would decide later whether to seek another Rajya Sabha term.

Often described as the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics, Pawar also spoke of his gradual withdrawal from active leadership. “For the first 30 years, I handled everything. For the next 25–30 years, Ajit Dada handled responsibilities. Now, arrangements must be made for new leadership,” he said.

Ajit Pawar’s death has dramatically altered that transition, especially as he was working towards reunifying the two NCP factions.

“After the developments of June–July 2023 and the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, there were deep changes within the family and the party. In the last six months, serious efforts were made to reunite. Even workers from both sides wanted unity. This is a massive blow,” a Pawar family insider told DH over phone from Baramati.

Electoral outcomes over the past year reflected the split. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, NCP (SP) recorded the best strike rate in Maharashtra, winning eight of the 10 seats it contested. The NCP, by contrast, won just one seat out of four.

However, the trend reversed in the subsequent Vidhan Sabha elections, where the NCP emerged stronger, securing 41 of the 288 seats, while NCP (SP) managed only 10.

Within NCP (SP), Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule serves as Working President, followed by leaders such as Rohit Pawar, state president Shashikant Shinde and former state chief Jayant Patil.

In the NCP, Praful Patel is the Working President and Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare heads the state unit. Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, is a Rajya Sabha MP, while their sons Parth and Jay are not actively involved in day-to-day politics. Parth Pawar briefly entered electoral politics in 2019 but lost the Lok Sabha election from Maval. Jay Pawar’s political debut was under consideration.

With Ajit Pawar gone, speculation has intensified that a member of the family may be asked to assume a larger role. For now, Sunetra Pawar is expected to play a key coordinating role in party affairs, alongside Patel and Tatkare.

The NCP continues to have several heavyweight leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dattatreya Bharne, Manikrao Kokate and Dhananjay Munde.

Ajit Pawar had already begun steps towards reconciliation between the two factions. While they contested the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections separately, they later decided to fight the zilla parishad elections together under the ‘clock’ symbol—seen as the first formal step towards reunification.

Nagpur meet and party roadmap

Both NCP factions claim adherence to the ideology of ‘Shiv–Shahu–Phule–Ambedkar’. At the Rashtravadi Chintan Shivir held in Nagpur on September 19, 2025, the NCP reaffirmed its commitment to sarva dharma sambhav and discussed strengthening ties with the BJP “for the welfare and development of Maharashtra”.

In recent days, reports had suggested Ajit Pawar might return to the Maha Vikas Aghadi following the party’s poor performance in Pune municipal elections, but these claims were denied.

Big question for Maha Yuti

Ajit Pawar’s death also presents an immediate challenge for the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maha Yuti government. Pawar held crucial portfolios, including Finance, Planning and Excise. With the Budget Session approaching, appointing a new Finance Minister has become urgent.

Beyond numbers and portfolios, Maha Yuti has lost a swift decision-maker known for his administrative grip and political finesse—leaving a vacuum that will not be easy to fill.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, January 23, indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to expand its political footprint in Kerala ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in the coming months.

Speaking at a BJP-organised public meeting, Modi drew parallels between the party’s early electoral gains in Gujarat and its recent victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. The civic body win, which ended decades of Left control, was cited by the Prime Minister as a possible starting point for the party’s broader ambitions in the state.

Recalling BJP’s political trajectory in Gujarat, Modi said the party was largely insignificant before 1987 and received little media attention. He pointed out that the BJP’s first major breakthrough came with its victory in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that year.

“Just as our journey in Gujarat began with one city, Kerala’s journey has also started with a single city,” Modi said, suggesting that the party’s municipal-level success could translate into wider electoral acceptance.

The Prime Minister alleged that successive governments led by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) had failed to adequately develop Thiruvananthapuram. He accused both fronts of corruption and neglect, claiming that basic infrastructure and facilities were denied to the capital city for decades.

According to Modi, the BJP’s control of the civic body represents a shift driven by public dissatisfaction with the existing political alternatives. He asserted that the BJP administration in Thiruvananthapuram had begun working towards development, though no specific details or timelines were outlined.

Addressing the gathering at Putharikandam Maidan, Modi said the BJP intended to project Thiruvananthapuram as a “model city,” reiterating his party’s commitment to governance-led change.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Kerala also included the inauguration of several development projects and the flagging off of new train services, as the BJP intensifies its political outreach in the poll-bound state.

Bengaluru, Feb 1: For travelers landing at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the sleek, wood-paneled curves of Terminal 2 promise a world-class welcome. But the famed “Garden City” charm quickly withers at the curb. As India’s aviation sector swells to record numbers—handling over 43 million passengers in Bengaluru alone this past year—the “last mile” has turned into a marathon of frustration.

The Bengaluru Logjam: Rules vs Reality

While the city awaits the 2027 completion of the Namma Metro Blue Line, the interim has been chaotic. Recent “decongestion” rules at Terminal 1 have pushed app-based cab pickups to distant parking zones, forcing weary passengers into a 20-minute walk with luggage.

“I landed after ten months away and felt like a stranger in my own city,” says Ruchitha Jain, a Koramangala resident. “My driver couldn’t find me, staff couldn’t guide me, and the so-called ‘Premium’ lane is just a fancy tax on convenience.”

•    The Cost of Distance: A 40-km cab ride can now easily cross ₹1,500, driven by demand pricing and airport surcharges.

•    The Bus Gap: While Vayu Vajra remains a lifeline, its ₹300–₹400 fare is often cited as the most expensive airport bus service in the country.

A National Pattern of Disconnect

The struggle is not unique to Karnataka. From Chennai’s coast to Hyderabad’s plateau, India’s airports tell a familiar story: brilliant runways, broken exits.

City:    Primary Issue   |    Recent Development

Bengaluru:    Cab pickup restrictions & distance  |    App-based taxis shifted to far parking zones; long walks and fare spikes reported

Chennai:    Multi-Level Parking (MLCP) hike  |    Passengers report 40-minute walks to reach cab pickup points

Hyderabad:    “Taxi mafia” & touting  |    Over 440 touting cases reported; security presence intensified

Mumbai:    Fare scams  |     Tourists charged ₹18,000 for just 400 metres, triggering police action

In Hyderabad, travelers continue to battle entrenched local groups that intimidate Uber and Ola drivers, pushing passengers toward overpriced private taxis. Chennai flyers, meanwhile, complain that reaching the designated pickup zones now takes longer than short-haul flights from cities like Coimbatore.

The ‘Budget Day’ Hope

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2026 today, the aviation sector is watching closely. With the government’s renewed emphasis on multimodal integration, there is cautious hope for funding toward seamless airport-metro-bus hubs.

The vision is clear: a future where planes, trains, and metros speak the same language. Until then, passengers at KIA—and airports across India—will continue to discover that the hardest part of flying isn’t the thousands of kilometres in the air, but the last few on the ground.