NCP founder Sharad Pawar dismissed claims on Monday that there were no moves by his late nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to merge his NCP with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.
Speaking to media persons here, NCP founder Sharad Pawar said, “What would those who were not in the merger talks know about our meeting? On the contrary, there were discussions among us regarding the merger of the NCP. We also had meetings. We were going to make an announcement in this regard on February 12”.
Sharad Pawar was reacting to a statement made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis earlier that, “If Ajit Pawar was holding discussions on the merger, would he have done so without taking BJP into confidence? Secondly, supposing he was holding such discussions, was he doing it to get out of the NDA when he was stable in the government? Some like to create confusion daily and then use one’s ecosystem to amplify such confusion. You all know that the relationship between Ajit Dada and me was such that he shared everything with me”.
Meanwhile, it is also learnt that industrialist Gautam Adani visited Sharad Pawar’s ‘Silver Oak’ residence in South Mumbai on Sunday and was with him for about 45 minutes.
In a related development, there is a formal demand by 30 leaders of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP to make his wife Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar the national president of the party. They have written this letter to Ajit Pawar-led NCP leaders Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel, who are known to be close to the BJP.
“The tragic demise of the pillar and visionary leadership of the respected Ajit Dada Pawar has cast a great shadow on the party. In these difficult times, the party needs strong, restrained, and united leadership. Respected Sunetra Ajit Pawar has proven her commitment to the party, and she has accepted the responsibility of the Deputy Chief Minister in very adverse circumstances. Considering her experience, loyalty to the party and affection for the workers, we, the regional presidents of all the cells of the (Ajit Pawar-led) NCP, firmly believe that she is suitable in every way for the post of National President of the (Ajit Pawar-led) NCP.
”Therefore, we, the presidents and office bearers of various cells of the (Ajit Pawar-led) NCP, unanimously demand that respected Sunetra Ajit Pawar be appointed as the party’s national president. We hope that you will consider this request positively,” the signed letter sent to Ajit Pawar-led NCP leaders Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel stated.
Sources also said that a meeting was held at the residence of Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Jayant Patil’s residence on December 23, attended by 14 leaders of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP as well as late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar himself.
According to sources, the late Ajit Pawar was the only one representing his party at the meeting, which was attended by 14 leaders from Sharad Pawar’s NCP including Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, Jitendra Awhad, Balasaheb Patil, Shashikant Shinde, Harshvardhan Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Ashok Pawar and Rajesh Tope.
Sources said that ”at this meeting to discuss the merger of the two NCPS, the late Ajit Pawar was asked, ‘What if Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare (who are close to the BJP) understand what we are discussing?’ The late Ajit Pawar raised his voice and replied loudly, ‘I am running the party and I will see to it’. After this, the merger of the two NCPS was practically finalised.”