Fadnavis Rules Out Entry Of Any New Party Into NDA, Mahayuti In Maharashtra: 'Our Doors Are Not Open'
Fadnavis Rules Out Entry Of Any New Party Into NDA, Mahayuti In Maharashtra: 'Our Doors Are Not Open' Published By, Last Updated: July 08, 2026
Fadnavis Rules Out Entry Of Any New Party Into NDA, Mahayuti In Maharashtra: 'Our Doors Are Not Open' Published By, Last Updated: July 08, 2026, 08:28 IST Amid speculation over outreach to Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP has no plans to induct any new party into the NDA or Maharashtra's Mahayuti alliance. A file photo of Devendra Fadnavis (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday dismissed speculation over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attempting to bring the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) into the Democratic Alliance (NDA), asserting that neither the NDA at the Centre nor the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra is looking to induct any new political party. Responding to questions from reporters in Delhi, Fadnavis said the BJP remained committed to its existing alliance partners and was not engaged in efforts to expand the coalition. “Our doors are not open for new parties, and we are working with our alliance partners who are part of NDA in Maharashtra," Fadnavis said, dismissing discussions about political defections as baseless.
His remarks came amid reports claiming that senior BJP leaders had reached out to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). The speculation gathered momentum after reports suggested that BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde had met NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil in Delhi. Fadnavis also made it clear that the BJP had no intention of engineering defections or breaking any political party to strengthen the alliance ahead of future elections. The Chief Minister said the Mahayuti coalition remained strong and united and would continue to move forward together. He added that there was no attempt on the BJP’s part to split the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) by persuading its MLAs or MPs to switch sides. Fadnavis made the remarks on the sidelines of a high-level meeting in New Delhi chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on projects related to the Narmada river basin. The meeting cleared the way for Maharashtra to receive 10 TMC of water, following which the Chief Minister addressed the media on the political developments in the state.
The clarification comes against the backdrop of heightened political speculation in Maharashtra following ‘Operation Tiger’, under which six Members of Parliament from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena reportedly crossed over to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The development triggered fresh rumours of a possible split within the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), with the reported meeting between Jayant Patil and Vinod Tawde further fuelling the buzz. However, leaders of the NCP (SP) have strongly rejected the speculation. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar denied that the party was in talks to join the NDA, saying there was no truth to such reports. He said no such discussions were taking place within the party and described the claims as mere rumours. Rohit Pawar also said the party had opposed the BJP’s ideology for decades and had consistently fought for farmers’ issues. NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule also dismissed the reports as baseless and said there was nothing unusual about meetings between leaders from different political parties, noting that Jayant Patil and Vinod Tawde had met several times over the past month in connection with parliamentary committees, government work and other official engagements.
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