NCP unit in Kerala faces turmoil as Ajit Pawar group demands resignation of LDF legislators for alleged anti-party activities

The internal strife in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra appeared to reverberate in its Kerala unit, a ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) ally, on Tuesday (July 15, 2025). 

The NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Maharashtra, has demanded the resignation of two NCP-Sharad Chandra Pawar group legislators aligned with the LDF in Kerala for alleged anti-party activities.

Praful Patel, NCP-Ajit Pawar faction’s national working president and chairman of the party’s central disciplinary committee, has also put Kerala Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran and Kuttanad MLA Thomas K. Thomas on notice for allegedly pursuing an anti-party line in Kerala. He has disqualified them from the NCP’s primary membership for six years.

Mr. Patel noted that both Mr. Thomas and Mr. Saseendran had won under the unified NCP’s clock symbol in the 2021 Assembly elections in Kerala. Subsequently, in 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognised the NDA-aligned Ajit Pawar faction as the “original” NCP. He accused the legislators of skipping party meetings and working as a parallel political entity far outside the “authentic” NCP’s ambit.

Mr. Patel warned both the Kerala leaders that the NCP-Ajit Pawar would draw them to court for allegedly violating the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law and the People’s Representation Act. 

Thomas, Saseendran hit back

Mr. Thomas told The Hindu that the NCP’s constitution did not envisage a national working president post as claimed by Mr. Patel. Moreover, the two NCP legislators in Kerala were aligned with Mr. Sharad Pawar. “So where is the question of an NCP split in Kerala?” he added. 

Mr. Saseendran stated that the Supreme Court order awarding the NCP name to Mr. Ajit Pawar was an interim order. He said he awaited the apex court’s final decision in the dispute over the NCP symbol and original name.

The NCP legislators in Kerala had aligned with the Sharad Pawar faction after the party’s split over Mr. Ajit Pawar’s decision to align with the NDA in Maharashtra in 2023.

Subsequently, Mr. Saseendran and Mr. Thomas filed affidavits in the Supreme Court declaring their allegiance to Mr. Sharad Pawar. They accused Mr. Ajit Pawar of “abandoning NCP’s founding Gandhian and Ambedkarite values” and swore their commitment to the LDF.

No ethical compunction: Satheesan

Meanwhile, Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Sastheesan said the LDF had “no ethical compunction in embracing two BJP allies” in Kerala, despite the Communist Party of India (Marxist)‘s [CPI(M)] “grandstanding against the Sangh Parivar.”

He said the national leadership of the Janata Dal (Secular), which has two legislators, including Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty, was aligned with the BJP and an NDA ally. “The LDF has lost its moral compass”, he added.