Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) dissolved all departments and units last Wednesday. NCP national general secretary Praful Patel had announced the dissolution of the departments and cells with immediate effect. The decision comes days after party chief Sharad Pawar convened a crucial meeting of party leaders last month. Since then, there has been speculation in the political corridors in Maharashtra about why Sharad Pawar took this decision. The most prominent of these speculations is that after the Shiv Sena, the NCP is also in danger of a split.  

Eknath Shinde's rebellion had initially torn the Shiv Sena legislature party into two, which toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government. Soon after, the party MPs also joined the Eknath faction. But even after that for Shinde, the division in the legislature or Parliament was not enough to control the Shiv Sena. According to the law, the division should take place inside the establishment of the party. The Shinde faction is now getting support from office-bearers.  

The support that the new CM of Maharashtra is getting from the party's frontal organisations will mean that a large section of the party is joining his team. The NCP, which is being accused of rebellion, seems to have learnt a lesson from the rebellion in the Shiv Sena. Dissolution of party departments and units as a regular process to strengthen the party is being formally justified. Sources, however, say Sharad Pawar has taken this step even before a similar coup. If there is an attempt to divide the party without Pawar, like the current situation of the Shiv Sena without Thackeray, the organisational structure should be empowered with Pawar.

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