After TMC And Sena UBT, Will MPs From Sharad Pawar’s NCP Join BJP-Led NDA?

Published 23 June 2026 · local

After TMC And Sena UBT, Will MPs From Sharad Pawar’s NCP Join BJP-Led NDA? Published By, Last Updated: June 23, 2026, 12:21 IST Five out

After TMC And Sena UBT, Will MPs From Sharad Pawar’s NCP Join BJP-Led NDA? Published By, Last Updated: June 23, 2026, 12:21 IST Five out of the eight NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MPs are considering an exit to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Democratic Alliance (NDA), according to reports Rapid Read NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar (File image) Following the defection of 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs and the subsequent exit of six Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs to the Eknath Shinde faction, media and political observers have turned their attention to the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). Five out of the eight Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Lok Sabha MPs are considering an exit to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Democratic Alliance (NDA), according to reports. The speculation has put Pawar’s NCP faction under intense pressure, according to observers. Sunetra Pawar’s recent meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah has further fuelled these rumours, according to the Times of India and other reports.

The NDA is actively looking to secure a structural two-thirds majority in Parliament to pass major constitutional reforms, such as the Uniform Civil Code and the Delimitation Bill. What Sharad Pawar is doing next In response to the looming threat of ‘Operation Tiger’ spreading to his party, Sharad Pawar called an urgent meeting of his remaining leadership on June 19 to keep his parliamentary bloc unified and resist the poaching attempts. The general assembly of MVA legislators will be held in Mumbai on June 24 to counter the ‘Operation Tiger’ defection scare and coordinate state strategy. Parallel to the defection rumours, the Congress has been floating discussions regarding a potential strategic merger with the NCP (SP) to anchor and secure the future of the opposition bloc ahead of the state’s upcoming political contests. Pawar should take the lead, merge smaller parties: Raut Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut recently said Pawar should take the lead to merge smaller parties, which came into existence after splitting away from the Congress, back with the Grand Old Party.

There are leaders who were part of the Congress and Congress-led governments, and they still espouse the same ideology, he said. “If this (Congress) ideology comes together, then it will pose a big challenge to (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi. Pawar should take an initiative regarding this," the Rajya Sabha member told reporters. Raut asserted that Congress has to be strong, and leaders of smaller parties that emerged from it must understand the situation. With Maharashtra politics in a constant state of flux, the next few days will determine whether the veteran leader Sharad Pawar can hold his faction together or if the party will suffer the same fate as the TMC and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. With agency inputs News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci...