Ajit Pawar was eager to reunite NCP factions, merger planned for Feb 12: Jayant Patil

Senior NCP SP leader Jayant Patil on Saturday said late NCP chief Ajit Pawar was eager to reunite with his uncle Sharad Pawar and had held several meetings to facilitate the merger of the two party factions. Earlier in the day, Sharad Pawar said that it was Ajit Pawars wish to unite the NCP factions and that they were optimistic about the merger.

Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Saturday said late NCP chief Ajit Pawar was eager to reunite with his uncle Sharad Pawar and had held several meetings to facilitate the merger of the two party factions. Patil's comments have come amid party chief Sharad Pawar's revelation that Ajit Pawar had planned to announce the merger on February 12, but his untimely death had stalled the process. Speaking to reporters in Islampur, Patil said, ''He (Ajit Pawar) visited my house on multiple occasions and held talks over dinner. He said he wanted to reunite with his uncle by getting over the past. On January 16, we decided to contest the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections together, and the announcement of the formal merger was to be made on February 12.'' NCP chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed along with four others after a Learjet 45 aircraft they were travelling in crashed at Baramati, his hometown in Pune district, earlier this week. Patil said Ajit Pawar had informed him that he had apprised NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal about the merger efforts and assured that they would abide by the decision he takes Asked whether Ajit Pawar wanted to remain in the Mahayuti government after the merger of the factions, the NCP (SP) leader said there were several aspects to the issue, which he would disclose at a later stage. ''He was eager to reunite both factions first. We had detailed discussions about it several times,'' he said. The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, was vertically split after Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government in July 2023. He was appointed the deputy CM at that time, and his stint in the post continued after Devendra Fadnavis came to the helm as CM following the November 2024 assembly polls. Earlier in the day, Sharad Pawar said that it was Ajit Pawar's wish to unite the NCP factions and that they were optimistic about the merger.

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