Sharad Pawar Faction Leaders Also Deny Merger Talks With Ajit Pawar Faction
Deshmukh dismisses political merger buzz; urges timely local polls, flags teacher recruitment scam in Malegaon
Mumbai: NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Monday ruled out the reunion of two NCP factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar. A day after the uncle and nephew met for the fourth time within a month, Mr. Deshmukh asserted that there was no discussion on the rival NCP factions coming together.
The speculations over merger of two NCP factions have been going on in the state politics for over a month. Last month, Sharad Pawar himself had claimed that he will not be surprised if the two factions come together in the future, as they all have the same ideology. However, there has been no official response from the Ajit Pawar faction, which has been declared as the “real NCP” by the Election Commission of India.
According to some reports, NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare are against the merger as it could re-establish Sule as the party’s one of the top leaders and make her front runner for a Union cabinet portfolio. However, Mr. Tatkare has rubbished the reports and said the question of opposing the merger does not arise as there is no such proposal.
When asked about the merger possibility, Mr. Deshmukh said, “Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar keep meeting on different occasions on issues related to sugar and educational institutes. But there is no discussion on the two factions merging.”
Earlier, NCP (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar had also clarified that any discussion on merger of two NCP factions will take place only after Supriya Sule returns from abroad. She is currently travelling as part of India’s delegation on ‘Operation Sindoor’ and Sharad Pawar has entrusted her with the responsibility to decide on merger, he said.
Rohit, grandnephew of Sharad Pawar and MLA from the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly, said once Ms. Sule returns from abroad, she would clarify her stance on the merger of the party. “Until Ms. Sule returns and clarifies, we won’t be able to shed light on this. Sharad Pawar has entrusted her with this responsibility. She is currently abroad and will return on June 5. We are all waiting for her views,” Rohit said.
Suggesting that Sharad Pawar’s statement regarding the merger could be a political ploy, Rohit said, “No one really knows what Pawar saheb is thinking. When he makes a decision, it’s usually surprising and unexpected. Even if he says something political, the outcome might be different. What happens next depends on him, but he always chooses what he believes is best for the people.”
