On January 28, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) National President Ajit Pawar died in a tragic air crash, leaving behind state politics in flux. Within a week, his wife was hurriedly sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of the country’s richest state. There has also been one-upmanship between the two NCPs for control of the party, amid speculation about the ‘invisible hand’ of the BJP, sparking a debate on whether the two NCPs will reunite, and what the future has in store. In this In Focus episode, we speak with veteran journalist and founding editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), P Sainath. Host: Vinaya Deshpande Pandit Produced and edited by Jude Weston For more episodes of In Focus: Published – February 06, 2026 06:37 pm IST Share this: Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email More Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Click to share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Like this:Like Loading... Post navigation Chennai Police Commissioner lauds 70 personnel for exemplary service MoU aims to facilitate skill development of GRI students