NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar has revealed that Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash on Wednesday, was due to announce the merger of the two NCP factions on February 12. Pawar said the merger was almost finalised.
Many NCP leaders have said that it was Ajit Dada’s (last) wish to reunite the two party factions, one of them headed by him and the other by his uncle Sharad Pawar.
Sharad Pawar was reported as saying in a report by the news agency IANS that positive talks on the merger had already taken place between Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil.
Sharad Pawar clarified that while the talks were happening, he was not directly involved in the negotiations, and they were led by NCP chief Ajit Pawar and NCP(SP) leader Jayant Patil.
“It was Ajit Dada’s wish that both NCPs should come together, and it was our wish as well,” the senior Pawar said.
Sharad Pawar said Ajit Pawar’s sudden death has now put the merger talks in limbo, and any further movement on the reunion will depend on the leaders of both sides.
According to the senior Pawar, the road map had been charted as the merger talks went on for four months.
“We cannot bring back the one who has gone. Facing the current situation is a challenge, and someone must take up Ajit Pawar’s responsibility,” he added.
Meanwhile, on the announcement that late Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, will replace her husband as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, with oath-taking scheduled for 5 pm today, the NCP(SP) supremo said he was not consulted regarding this matter.
“I have had no discussion with Sunetra Pawar regarding this. I only learnt about the swearing-in ceremony through the morning news,” Sharad Pawar said at a press conference.
“The party (NCP) is theirs to run. Leaders like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare have the authority to make these decisions, and I will not comment on their internal choices. Our political paths are different. While the family stands together in grief, politics remains separate,” he added.