Ajit Pawar splits the NCP his uncle founded — and later wins the party's name

Ajit Pawar had been the Nationalist Congress Party's second-most senior figure for years, and Sharad Pawar's nephew, when he broke away on 2 July 2023 — almost exactly a year after the Shiv Sena's Shinde–Thackeray split followed the same pattern. He took the oath as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister that day, joining the BJP–Eknath Shinde government, with eight other NCP leaders sworn in alongside him as ministers.

As with the Shiv Sena, both factions claimed to be the legitimate NCP, and the dispute went to the Election Commission on the same test it had used for Shinde's Sena — chiefly, which faction held a majority among the party's own elected MLAs and MPs. On 6 February 2024, the Commission ruled in Ajit Pawar's favour, recognising his group as the Nationalist Congress Party and awarding it the party's clock symbol.

Sharad Pawar's remaining faction was left to register as the “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar,” contesting under a new symbol. Both factions went on to contest the 2024 Maharashtra elections separately, each fielding candidates against the other in a number of seats the NCP had once held as one party.