Ajit Pawar Eyes Pune ZP Elections for Political Comeback, BJP Challenge Looms

• Ajit Pawar aims to regain political prestige in Pune Zilla Parishad elections after a defeat in the Municipal Corporation polls.
• Deliberations are underway for both NCP factions to contest the ZP elections together on the 'clock' symbol to avoid vote splitting.
• The split in NCP previously impacted Lok Sabha elections, with 14 ZP members supporting Sharad Pawar.
• A fierce contest is expected between Ajit Pawar's NCP and BJP in the Pune Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections.
• Pune Zilla Parishad has 75 seats: NCP-44, Shiv Sena-13, Congress-7, BJP-7, Others-4.

Why It Matters: Ajit Pawar is strategizing to consolidate NCP factions and challenge BJP dominance in the upcoming Pune ZP elections.