Following the passing of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar said on Saturday that the merger of the two NCPs, which was supposed to happen on February 12, has stalled. Despite the wishes of his own party, he implied that leaders from the Ajit Pawar camp were no longer interested in a merger.
A plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed close to Baramati Airport in Pune district on Wednesday, resulting in his death. (PTI) Speaking at a press conference, which was his first in a string of quickly developing political events following Ajit Pawar’s passing, Sharad Pawar claimed that the four-month-long merger negotiations had stalled, raising questions about the party’s future course.
Sharad Pawar stated, “Unfortunately, Ajit Pawar’s plane crash stalled the merger talks,” adding that there was a shared desire for unification. “We want to bring the two sides together.”
Pawar’s remarks coincided with rumors that worries within the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction were the reason behind Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s widow, taking the oath of office as deputy chief minister. In private, leaders in that camp claim that pressure from other groups to unite and an increasing awareness that the group could drift and lose cohesiveness in the absence of a strong power center were the driving forces behind the change.
As he considered the development, Sharad Pawar alluded to this worry. “The latest development (Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in ceremony) may be the result of a feeling that someone needs to take charge of the NCP,” he stated. On Saturday at 5 p.m., Sunetra Pawar will take the oath.
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According to Pawar senior, Ajit Pawar actively participated in the negotiations and suggested February 12 as a tentative date for the merger. He stated, “Ajit Pawar was an effective leader,” highlighting his crucial role in sustaining the discussions.
Sharad Pawar wanted to distance himself from the discussions, saying he was not directly involved. “It was between Jayant Patil from my party and Ajit Pawar from the NCP, but I was not involved in the merger talks,” he stated.
The NCP founder responded, “I don’t know if there was any haste,” when asked if Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in demonstrated undue haste. The call for profanity “was probably from within their party,” he continued.
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The NCP factions split in July 2023 when more than 40 of Ajit Pawar’s NCP’s 54 MLAs defected to join the BJP-led Mahayuti government. Following this division, Sharad Pawar renamed his party the Nationalist Congress Party, or Sharad Chandra Pawar.
Recent elections for two municipal corporations, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, saw an uncommon convergence of opposing parties. However, the BJP won both civic bodies handily, so the reconciliation was unsuccessful.
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