29 May,2026 11:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sanjay Raut claimed the faction formed after separating from Sharad Pawar had no long-term political future. File Pic
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday claimed that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has "no future" after its split and said several senior leaders must now regret separating Ajit Pawar from Sharad Pawar and joining hands with the BJP, reported the PTI.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Sanjay Raut said leaders such as Chhagan Bhujbal, Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Hasan Mushrif and Dhananjay Munde would now be reconsidering their political decision, the news agency reported.
The NCP split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the then Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government along with several MLAs.
Following the split, Ajit Pawar retained the NCP name and the party's âclock' election symbol, while Sharad Pawar's faction became known as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Raut claimed the faction formed after separating from Sharad Pawar had no long-term political future.
Sanjay Raut also spoke about upcoming local self-government elections in Maharashtra.
He said opposition parties were reviewing constituencies where they had weak voter strength and were discussing whether to contest certain seats.
According to him, discussions were taking place on candidate selection and electoral strategy in several constituencies, as per the PTI.
However, he added that party workers believed no election should remain uncontested.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader strongly criticised the BJP-led governments at both the Centre and in Maharashtra over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, according to the PTI.
Raut alleged that several people arrested in connection with the case had links to the BJP and RSS.
He claimed Maharashtra had become a major centre for examination paper leak rackets and accused the government of failing to stop such activities.
Raut also criticised reports suggesting the Army and paramilitary forces could be involved in conducting examinations.
He said the armed forces should focus on protecting the country's borders, handling anti-terror operations and assisting during natural disasters rather than supervising examinations.
He further questioned reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might personally monitor the NEET examination process, asking whether the Prime Minister would now "sit in examination centres like a headmaster", reported the PTI.
Raut said students preparing for NEET were facing severe stress and uncertainty because of repeated paper leak controversies.
He claimed several students had suffered mental distress and referred to a recent case of a NEET student in Marathwada allegedly dying by suicide.
According to Raut, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were responsible for the current situation.
Speaking about political developments in Karnataka, Raut praised Congress leader Siddaramaiah for stepping down as chief minister on the instructions of the party leadership, the news agency reported.
He described it as a rare example of a senior leader willingly giving up power.
Raut compared Siddaramaiah to former Maharashtra leaders such as Vasantdada Patil and Vasantrao Naik, saying some politicians prefer to work at the state level rather than move to national politics.
(with PTI inputs)
