Mumbai, Nov 9 (PTI) Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare on Monday reiterated his statement that a merger between the rival party factions would have taken place on February 12 had former deputy CM Ajit Pawar been alive as speculation over a reunion kept circulating with leaders making different comments.
Talking to reporters, Tatkare said the Nationalist Congress Party (SP)’s position on the merger issue had already been stated by its senior leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule and the Opposition outfit’s state party president Shashikant Shinde.
Clarifying his earlier remarks that a merger between NCP factions would have happened had Ajit Pawar been alive, Tatkare stated, “I said that if Dada (Ajit Pawar) had been alive, a decision on a merger would have been taken on February 12.”
Ajit Pawar, the then-deputy CM and NCP president, died in an air crash on January 28.
He said his statement was made in a particular context and there was no question of him changing his position.
The Lok Sabha MP insisted the issue of merger was now over.
Tatkare said he had been in politics for 40 years and never compelled to apologise for a statement or withdraw his words in legislature, press conferences or speech.
“I have survived in politics for 40 years because I know what I talk,” he maintained.
A senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister said there is no truth in the buzz over the merger of the two factions of the Sharad Pawar-founded party, which split in July 2023.
“There is no merger. We are not going to respond to rumours,” the leader, who did not wish to be named, told PTI.
The merger buzz gained strength last week after several leaders of the Sunetra Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, including Praful Patel and Parth Pawar, met Sharad Pawar, who was recently hospitalised for a chest infection.
While Parth Pawar met the Opposition stalwart at his ‘Silver Oak’ residence in south Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday, the meeting between Patel and the NCP (SP) chief took place last week at Breach Candy hospital.
A viral video showed Sharad Pawar and Patel discussing a possible meeting after November 10.
On Sunday, Patel told reporters that he met Sharad Pawar to enquire about his health and not to hold political discussions.
Patel also clarified on the “meeting after November 10” video.
Patel said Sharad Pawar was aware he would be in Gondia on November 8-9 for Diwali. “So I said I will be in Mumbai from November 10 and will visit him again to check on his health,” Patel informed.
Meanwhile, NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil hit back at Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat over his remarks on the merger.
“Why are you so concerned about our merger? You too have two Shiv Sena factions. Why don’t you accept the option of merger?” Patil said, rebuking Shirsat.
Who would become the party president if the Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde merged, and which faction’s district and taluka-level leaders would be retained, Patil further asked.
Patil said it was inappropriate for Shirsat to comment on the NCP merger when there was no similar discussion about the merger of the two Shiv Sena factions. The Bal Thackeray-founded party split in June 2022.
“One should first sort out matters in one’s own house before looking into the affairs of other parties,” Patil added.
Shirsat on Sunday said a merger between the NCP and NCP (SP) appeared to be in its final stages and that the roles of various leaders would soon become clear.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar dismissed speculation regarding the merger, asserting that no such discussions were underway within his party and alleging that the reports were designed to set a political narrative.
Speaking to reporters after meeting his grand uncle and party president Sharad Pawar at his residence, Rohit Pawar said neither the veteran leader nor the party’s working president, Supriya Sule, had ever discussed an NCP merger or alignment with the BJP.
“If merger talks were underway, Supriya tai or Pawar Saheb would have spoken to me. There has been no discussion on merger in our party. The discussion is only in Ajit Dada’s party and in the media,” he said.
The Karjat Jamkhed MLA claimed that the speculation was aimed at creating a particular political narrative, asserting that he remained among the most vocal critics of the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.
Dismissing the merger buzz, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said there is such proposal on the table.
Talking to reporters, Raut said one must wait for Sharad Pawar to make his stand clear on the issue.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) are part of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, while the NCP is aligned with the BJP-led NDA at the Centre and Mahayuti in Maharashtra.
Raut claimed the NCP has become leaderless after the death of Ajit Pawar. PTI PR MR BNM ARU RSY
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