NCP (SP), NCP merger process may face roadblock due to Ajit Pawar's death, says Sharad Pawar

The process to merge the two factions was underway for the past four months under Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, the NCP SP chief told reporters in Baramati. Sharad Pawar also told reporters that the NCP SP didnt know about the swearing-in of Ajit Pawars wife Sunetra Pawar as deputy chief minister in the Devendra Fadnavis government.

The process to merge the NCP (SP) and NCP may now face a roadblock due to the death of Ajit Pawar, said Sharad Pawar on Saturday. Nationalist Congress Party 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 here, on January 28. The process to merge the two factions was underway for the past four months under Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, the NCP (SP) chief told reporters in Baramati. ''All discussions were held at their level, but it now appears the process may hit a roadblock following the (plane) accident. The talks were progressing in a positive direction, but the accident adversely affected the process,'' the former Union minister said. Efforts were being made to establish cordial dialogue between the two factions, he added. Asked whether the merger process would continue, Sharad Pawar said he did not know as he was not part of these discussions. ''It was Ajit's wish to unite the two factions, and now it is our wish that his wish should be fulfilled,'' Pawar said. ''We cannot bring Ajit back. We have lost him. Now we have to see how to face the situation,'' the NCP (SP) chief asserted. Sharad Pawar said a consensus had been reached about both factions working together, and the process had already begun. ''The decision on the merger was supposed to be announced on February 12. Ajit had given this date, but unfortunately, the accident took place,'' he added. During the recent civic polls, which the two factions contested in alliance, Ajit Pawar had also told select journalists that he intended to merge his party with the NCP (SP) while his uncle Sharad Pawar (85) was in good health. After contesting the January 15 civic elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together, the two factions decided to continue the tie-up for next month's Zilla Parishad elections too. The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, 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. Sharad Pawar also told reporters that the NCP (SP) didn't know about the swearing-in of Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar as deputy chief minister in the Devendra Fadnavis government. ''I am not aware of the swearing-in. I didn't even know that it was scheduled for today. There was no discussion with me about the swearing-in. Her party (NCP) may have made the decision. The names of Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare came up, and it is learnt that they took the initiative. They might have taken a decision internally within the party,'' he said. Sunetra Pawar (62) was on Saturday sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. She was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a brief ceremony at Lok Bhavan here. Earlier in the day, she was elected as the state NCP legislature party leader.

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