Nationalist Congress Party

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Nationalist Congress Party
AbbreviationNCP
PresidentSharad Pawar
SpokespersonNawab Malik
Lok Sabha leaderSupriya Sule
Rajya Sabha leaderSharad Pawar
Founder
Founded10 June 1999 (25 years ago) (1999-06-10)
Split fromIndian National Congress
Headquarters10, Bishmabhar Marg, New Delhi, India-110001
Student wingNationalist Student Congress
Youth wingNationalist Youth Congress
Nationalist Yuvati Congress
Women's wingNationalist Women's Congress
IdeologyLiberalism[1]
Gandhism[2]
Colours  Pacific Blue
ECI StatusNational Party[3]
AllianceUnited Progressive Alliance (National level)
Left Democratic Front (Kerala)
Maha Vikas Aghadi (Maharashtra)
SP+
(Uttar Pradesh)
Seats in Lok Sabha
5 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
4 / 245
[4]
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies
Indian states
53 / 288
(Maharashtra)[5]
2 / 140
(Kerala)
1 / 182
(Gujarat)
1 / 81
(Jharkhand)
1 / 60
(Meghalaya)
Seats in Maharashtra Legislative Council
11 / 78
Number of states and union territories in government
3 / 31
Election symbol
Clock symbol of NCP.png
Party flag
NCP-flag.svg
Website
ncp.org.in

The Nationalist Congress Party (abbr. NCP) is one of the eight national parties in India.[6][7]

Party formation and performance[edit]

The NCP was formed on 10 June 1999, by Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the Indian National Congress (INC) on 20 May 1999, for disputing the right of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the party.[8][9][10] At the time of formation of the NCP, the Indian Congress (Socialist) party merged with the new party.[11]

Despite the NCP being founded on opposition to the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the party joined the Congress-led UPA to form government of Maharashtra in October 1999. In 2004, the party joined the UPA to form the Indian Government led by Manmohan Singh. NCP leader, Sharad Pawar served as the Minister of Agriculture for both five-year terms of Singh led government. The party remained part of the Congress-led Maharashtra state government until 2014.[12] On 20 June 2012, P. A. Sangma quit the NCP to contest in presidential polls.[13] In May 2014 Lok Sabha, the UPA lost to the rival NDA alliance led by Narendra Modi and the NCP was out of government for the first time in ten years. NCP broke its alliance with the Congress party just before Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections in 2014 to contest on its own.[14] In the assembly election the BJP emerged as the largest party and formed a minority government initially with support from NCP.

In April 2019, voting took place for the 48 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra. The Congress and NCP had a seat-sharing arrangement.[15] Similarly, despite their differences, the BJP and Shiv Sena once again contested the elections together under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) banner.[16] The election was another landslide victory for the NDA, with the BJP and Shiv Sena winning 23 and 18 seats, respectively, out of the total of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress party won only one seat in the state whereas the NCP won five seats from its stronghold of western Maharashtra.[17]

In November 2019 after a month of political drama, the NCP came back into power at the state level as part of a coalition formed between Shiv Sena, the Congress, and NCP. This followed the Vidhan sabha elections in October 2019 where the BJP–Shiv-Sena and NCP–Congress alliances remained intact for seat sharing. The BJP and Shiv Sena together gained the majority of seats in the assembly but could not form a government due to squabbles between the two parties. The BJP, with 105 seats, was far short of the 145 seats required to form a majority and declined to form a minority government. At the same time, Shiv Sena started talks with the NCP and Congress to form a government. However, in a dramatic and controversial move, on 23 November 2019, the BJP formed a government with support from NCP, with Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister. This government collapsed three days later with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar resigning their respective positions. On 28 November 2019, the governor of Maharashtra swore in Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief, as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. Thackeray's governing coalition includes Shiv Sena, NCP, INC, and a number of independent members of the legislative assembly. The cabinet includes ministers from NCP in key portfolios.[18][19]

The Mumbai President of the Nationalist Congress Party Nawab Malik said that the NCP advocates for Indian reunification, that "India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should be merged". Malik compared this to German reunification: "If the Berlin wall can be demolished then why not India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh come together?"[20]

Party symbol[edit]

The election symbol of NCP is an analogue alarm clock.[21][22] The clock is drawn in blue and has two legs and an alarm button. It is situated on a tri-coloured Indian flag.[23]

Party leadership[edit]

The party's primary base is the state of Maharashtra and leadership reflects that. Also since the 1980s, Indian politics has become dynastic, possibly due to the absence of a party organization, independent civil society associations that mobilize support for the party, and centralized financing of elections.[24] This phenomenon is seen from national level down to district level. In that regard NCP is considered the party with the highest level of dynasticism in Indian politics.[25] The party founder, Sharad Pawar has many members of his family such as daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar holding prominent positions in the party.

SI № Name Designation Comment
1 Sharad Pawar 1.) Founder and National President.
2.) Former Union Minister of Defence, Government of India.
3.) Former Union Minister of Agriculture, Government of India.
4.) Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
5.) Former Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
Active in Politics.
2 Jayant Patil 1.) Maharashtra State President.
2.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
3.) Former cabinet minister of the government of Maharashtra for Home, Finance and Rural Development.
4.) Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra for Water resources and command area development.
5.) Leader of NCP Legislative Party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Active in Politics.
3 Ajit Pawar 1.) Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Minister of Finance and Planning.
2.) Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
3.) Former Water resources minister of Government of Maharashtra.
4.) Current Leader of house in Maharashtra Legislative Counsil.
Active in Politics.
4 Rajesh Tope 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) Former Higher Education Minister.
3.) Health Minister Of Maharashtra Government.
Active in Politics.
5 Dhananjay Munde 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) Former Opposition Leader in Maharashtra Legislative Council.
3.) Cabinet Minister Of Maharashtra Government.
Active in Politics.
6 Supriya Sule Member of the Lok Sabha from Baramati. Active in Politics.
7 Jitendra Awhad 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra.
Active in Politics.
7. Chhagan Bhujbal 1.) Former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
2.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
3.) Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra Government.
Active in Politics.
8 Sunil Tatkare Member of the Lok Sabha from Raigad. Active in Politics.
9 Amol Kolhe Member of the Lok Sabha from Shirur. Active in Politics.
10 Dattatray Vithoba Bharne 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.


2.) Guardian minister of Solapur District
3.) Ministers of State of Maharashtra Government.

Active in Politics.
11 Mohammed Faizal P. P. Member of the Lok Sabha from Lakshadweep. Active in Politics.
12 Praful Patel 1.) Member of the Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
2.) Former Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India.
Active in Politics.
13 Nawab Malik 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) National Spokesperson.
3.) Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra.
Active in Politics.
14 R.R. Patil Former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Died in 2015.
15 Dilip Walse-Patil 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra.
Active in Politics.
16 Fouzia Khan 1.) National President of NCP's women's wing.
2.) Former Minister, Government of Maharashtra.
3.) Member of the Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Active in Politics.
17 Thomas Chandy Former Transport Minister
Government of Kerala
.
Died on 20 December 2019.
18 D. P. Tripathi Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Died on 2 January 2020.
19 Reshma Patel General Secretary of Gujarat state Nationalist Congress Party. Active in Gujarat Politics.
20 Kandhal Jadeja Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Active in Gujarat Politics.
21 Dheeraj Sharma National President of the National Student and Congress. Active in Politics.
22 Anil Deshmukh 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) Former Minister for Home Affairs
Government of Maharashtra
.
Active in Politics.
23 Babajani Durani Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Active in Politics.
24 Hasan Mushrif 1.) Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
2.) Minister of Rural Development
Government of Maharashtra
.
Active in Politics.
25 Shriniwas Patil 1.) Former Governor of Sikkim.
2.) Member of the Lok Sabha from Satara.
Active in Politics.
26 P. C. Chacko 1.) Former Member of the Lok Sabha from Thrissur (Lok Sabha constituency). Active in Politics.

Electoral performance[edit]

Lok Sabha elections[edit]

Lok Sabha term Year Seats
contested
Seats won +/- Votes polled % of
votes
State (seats)
13th Lok Sabha 1999 32
8 / 543 (1%)
Increase8 82,60,311 2.27%
  • Maharashtra (6)
  • Manipur (1)
  • Meghalaya (1)
14th Lok Sabha 2004 32
9 / 543 (2%)
Increase1 70,23,175 1.80%
  • Maharashtra (9)
15th Lok Sabha 2009 68
9 / 543 (2%)
Steady 85,21,502 1.19%
  • Maharashtra (8)
  • Meghalaya (1)
16th Lok Sabha 2014 36
6 / 543 (1%)
Decrease3 86,35,558 1.56%
  • Maharashtra (4)
  • Bihar (1)
  • Lakshadweep(1)
17th Lok Sabha 2019 35
5 / 543 (0.9%)
Decrease1 84,83,632 1.39%
  • Maharashtra (4)
  • Lakshadweep(1)

Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections[edit]

Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha[edit]

Vidhan Sabha term Year Seats
contested
Votes polled +/- Seats
won
% of
votes
10th Vidhan Sabha 1999 223 74,25,427 Increase58
58 / 288 (20%)
22.60%
11th Vidhan Sabha 2004 124 78,41,962 Increase13
71 / 288 (25%)
18.75%
12th Vidhan Sabha 2009 113 74,20,212 Decrease9
62 / 288 (22%)
16.37%
13th Vidhan Sabha 2014 278 91,22,285 Decrease21
41 / 288 (14%)
17.24%
14th Vidhan Sabha 2019 125 92,16,919 Increase13
54 / 288 (19%)
16.71%

Other States Vidhan Sabha Elections

Year State Seats
contested
Votes polled +/- Seats
won
% of
votes
2017 Goa 10 20,916 Increase 1
1 / 40 (3%)
2.3%
2017 Gujarat 182 184,815 Decrease 1
1 / 182 (0.5%)
0.6%
2019 Jharkhand 7 63,320 Increase 1
1 / 81 (1%)
0.42%
2018 Meghalaya 6 29,287 Decrease 1
1 / 60 (2%)
1.6%
2016 Kerala 4 237,408 Steady
2 / 140 (1%)
1.2%
2021 Kerala 3 206,130 Steady
2 / 140 (1%)
0.99%

List of Rajya Sabha members[edit]

Name Date of Appointment Date of Retirement
1 Sharad Pawar 03-Apr-2020 02-Apr-2026
2 Fouzia Khan 03-Apr-2020 02-Apr-2026
3 Vandana Chavan 03-Apr-2018 02-Apr-2024
4 Praful Patel 05-Jul-2016 04-Jul-2022

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Jha, Giridhar (25 November 2019). "Maharashtra Govt Formation: BJP's Return Into Ring Makes Scene Murkier". Outlook. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  2. India, Press Trust of (10 September 2021). "Pawar praises Uddhav; says NCP committed to Gandhi-Nehru ideology". Business Standard India.
  3. "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 18.01.2013" (PDF). India: Election Commission of India. 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  4. "Rajya Sabha". 164.100.47.5.
  5. "Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2014: Maharashtra State Election Dates, Results, News, Governors and Cabinet Ministers 2014". dna.
  6. "Recognized Political Parties:ECI".
  7. "NPP Becomes First Political Outfit from the Northeast to get Status of National Party". 7 June 2019.
  8. Senior Congress leaders quit in Jharkhand
  9. CWC expels threesome for six years
  10. "Sangma meets Sonia Gandhi, first time in a decade". The Times of India. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
  11. "Spotlight: Merger with NCP". Tribune India. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  12. Suhas Palshikar; Prerna Singh; Atul Kohli (4 January 2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Politics. Routledge. pp. 92, 97. ISBN 978-1-135-12275-1.
  13. "I have quit NCP, will contest presidential polls: PA Sangma". The Times of India. 29 June 2012.
  14. "Congress-NCP announce seat-sharing for Maharashtra polls". 16 September 2019.
  15. "Raj Thackeray, Dhananjay Munde in demand to campaign for Cong". April 11. PTI. 2019.
  16. "Opinion Poll: BJP-Shiv Sena may lose 8 seats in Maharashtra, Congress-NCP to improve figures". No. March 23. New Nation. 2019.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Political drama has gripped the home state of Bollywood". No. 30 November 2019. The Economist. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  19. "Maharashtra: With 169 votes, Uddhav-led govt sails through Assembly floor test, BJP stages walkout". Indian Express. No. 30 November 2019. Indian Express newspapers. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  20. "NCP will welcome BJP's decision to merge India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, says Maharashtra minister". Scroll.in. 23 November 2020.
  21. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Symbols" (PDF). eci.nic.in. 2009.
  23. "Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – Party History, Symbol, Founders, Election Results and News". www.elections.in.
  24. Chhibber⇑, Pradeep (March 2013). "Dynastic parties Organization, finance and impact". Party Politics. 19 (2): 277–295. doi:10.1177/1354068811406995. S2CID 144781444.
  25. Kanchan Chandra (28 April 2016). Democratic Dynasties: State, Party, and Family in Contemporary Indian Politics. Cambridge University Press. p. 131,136. ISBN 978-1-316-59212-0.

External links[edit]

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