Culture1 min
Rohit Pawar questions NCP merger buzz, says leaders contradict themselves
The Karjat-Jamkhed MLA says claims about reuniting the two NCP factions don't add up, and hints at pressure on Sunetra Pawar.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has challenged the fresh talk of merging the two Nationalist Congress Party factions, saying leaders are giving conflicting accounts of what was ever planned. The Karjat-Jamkhed legislator spoke after a new round of speculation about reunion.
Pawar said Ajit Pawar also wanted the factions to come together, partly because party patriarch Sharad Pawar, who heads the NCP (SP), is now 85. He added that Ajit Pawar had hit the streets to take on the BJP in the municipal corporation and zilla parishad elections.
His main complaint is about timing and consistency. After Ajit Pawar's death, many leaders said no merger discussions had taken place, Rohit Pawar noted. Now, he said, some of those same voices claim the factions would have reunited had Ajit Pawar been alive.
Pawar suggested the shifting statements could be a way to pressure Sunetra Pawar, who now leads the NCP. He also asked whether the renewed chatter signals trouble inside the ruling alliance.
The latest buzz followed two developments. A viral video showed senior NCP leader Praful Patel visiting Sharad Pawar at a Mumbai hospital and discussing a possible meeting after November 10. Separately, Sunil Tatkare said the merger would have happened in February this year if Ajit Pawar were alive.
Why it matters: the NCP is an ally of the BJP and a partner in Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti coalition, so any reunion move could shift the state's political balance. For now, the claims and counterclaims have only deepened the speculation.
