Veteran Maharashtra politician and founder of the undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Sharad Pawar said here that he “would not be surprised” if both factions of the NCP reconcile and unite.

“It is up to Supriya Sule (Sharad Pawar’s daughter) and Ajit Pawar (Sharad Pawar’s nephew) to take this decision. I am not in the decision-making process. There are two streams of opinion in our party. Some are in favour of joining hands with Ajit Pawar, while others are in favour of not going directly or indirectly with the BJP, and instead they wish to remain with the INDIA alliance,” Sharad Pawar said.

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Sharad Pawar said, “Our (Sharad Pawar’s) idea is to remain in opposition. We want to be an alternative to the BJP”.

Pawar also stated that his daughter Supriya Sule has to decide whether to join the government or remain in the opposition in Parliament.

Reacting to Sharad Pawar’s statement, Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, “Sharad Pawar has shown a ray of hope for the two NCP parties to come together. His experience will definitely be beneficial. I wish that this reconciliation happens as soon as possible. If both the NCPs are coming together, I am ready to mediate, but Ajit Pawar grew up in Pawar’s family, so I don’t think there is a need for any mediator for their reconciliation”.

Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader and minister Pratap Sarnaik also welcomed Sharad Pawar’s statement and said, “Sharad Pawar is a great leader. I wish him all the best. He will be welcomed. His experience will benefit the state government. Sharad Pawar is now trying to hand over power to a new leadership. He is trying to give the new leadership an opportunity. His decision is welcome. If the NCP leaders come to the Mahayuti alliance, they are 100 percent welcome,” Sarnaik said.

The original NCP founded by Sharad Pawar witnessed a vertical split after his nephew Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar decided to part ways with his uncle Sharad Pawar and join the BJP in July 2023. After that, both the leaders had gone to court over who owned the original NCP. Both parties had also contested the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections against each other.

However, later on, the leaders of both NCPs began meeting each other. Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar were also seen coming together and interacting closely on various occasions, which kept giving rise to speculation about a likely merger, though nothing really progressed in that direction, until now.