Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Rohit Pawar Deepens Congress Ties Amid Maharashtra Opposition Politics
Rohit Pawar is a Maharashtra politician from the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
He has recently been meeting important Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.
He asked them to support a fair investigation into an aircraft crash that killed his uncle, Ajit Pawar.
When he could not register a police complaint in Maharashtra, he filed a zero FIR in Bengaluru.
A zero FIR allows a complaint to be filed at any police station.
Rohit says his party and Congress have similar ideas and have worked together for many years.
He has also been raising issues affecting farmers, students, women, and government-job applicants.
The BJP says he is using these issues to build his political image, while his supporters say he is genuinely challenging the government.
Rohit Pawar met Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders seeking support for a transparent aircraft-crash investigation.
After failing to register an FIR in Maharashtra, Pawar filed a zero FIR in Bengaluru.
He says the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress share longstanding alliances and similar ideologies.
Pawar has positioned himself as a leading Maharashtra Opposition voice on farmers, students, women, and recruitment-exam issues.
The BJP accused him of using student concerns for political gain, while NCP (SP) leaders rejected the charge.
- Who
- Rohit Pawar, an NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA; Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders; and the BJP-led Maharashtra government are central to the report.
- What
- Rohit Pawar is drawing closer to Congress while seeking support for an aircraft-crash investigation and campaigning on Maharashtra Opposition issues.
- When
- The developments followed meetings in March and continued through the period described in the report, including a recent student protest over a recruitment-exam paper leak.
- Where
- The meetings took place in Delhi; the zero FIR was registered in Bengaluru; and Pawar has been active across Maharashtra, including Pune and Baramati.
- Why
- Pawar says Congress and his party share similar ideologies and that both need to work to return to power in 2029; the report also says keeping Congress on his side may strengthen his independent political path.
Pawar and Congress-aligned view
BJP criticism
Political relationship
Pawar and Congress-aligned view
Rohit Pawar says the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress have similar ideologies, longstanding alliances, and a shared interest in returning to power in 2029.
BJP criticism
Speculation has surrounded a possible NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) merger with the NCP and a possible move by Pawar to Congress, though the report does not say that either has happened.
Student and recruitment issues
Pawar and Congress-aligned view
Pawar and his allies say raising student concerns, including alleged recruitment-exam irregularities and paper leaks, is legitimate opposition work.
BJP criticism
BJP leaders accuse Pawar of using students and their concerns to increase his political stature and give the issues political colour.
Political independence
Pawar and Congress-aligned view
Pawar is portrayed as building his own path by publicly challenging the BJP-led government and maintaining close relations with Congress.
BJP criticism
A senior Congress leader suggests Pawar is carefully keeping Congress in good faith to avoid appearing politically unreliable and to advance his own career.
- Main politician
- Rohit Pawar, an MLA from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)
- Congress meeting
- Pawar met Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and K C Venugopal in Delhi for more than an hour
- Investigation demand
- He sought a fair and transparent investigation into the aircraft crash that killed Ajit Pawar
- Police complaint
- A zero FIR was registered at High Grounds police station in Bengaluru after Pawar said he could not register an FIR in Maharashtra
- Political position
- Pawar has presented himself as a leading Maharashtra Opposition voice, although the Opposition lacks the numbers for formal Leader of Opposition status
- Issues raised
- His campaigns have focused on farmers, women, students, contractors, recruitment irregularities, and alleged paper leaks
- 2029 objective
- Pawar said both parties' foremost task is to return to power in Maharashtra and at the Centre in 2029