Parth Pawar
NCP national working president Praful Patel said he would meet Sharad Pawar after Nov 10 in Mumbai, adding to the buzz surrounding the proposed merger. The back-to-back meetings between Parth and Sharad Pawar, the meeting with NCP (SP) leaders, coupled with Patel’s announcement of a meeting after Nov 10, have once again brought the possibility of a reunion of the two NCP factions into focus.
After meeting Sharad Pawar, Kolhe and Awhad told reporters that there was no discussion about a merger and that the NCP (SP) leaders had met their party chief only to inquire about his health. A senior NCP leader who attended the meeting told TOI on the condition of anonymity that several senior functionaries were unhappy with Parth, alleging that he had repeatedly taken key decisions without consulting the party leaders. This, the leader said, had led to growing resentment among senior leaders. Neither appointment was discussed within the party and several senior leaders were not even aware of the decisions, according to NCP sources. Earlier reporting noted: Speaking to reporters on the occasion of Diwali, Shirsat referred to the meeting between Parth Pawar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar and said political developments were unfolding.
The discontent reportedly intensified following the appointments of Umesh Patil as the party’s national chief spokesperson and Zeeshan Siddiqui as the Mumbai unit president. Chhagan Bhujbal publicly admitted that he learnt about the new appointments through media reports. After Ajit Pawar’s death, Tatkare and Patel both had denied reports of merger talks between Ajit Pawar and NCP (SP) leaders.
Earlier, seven NCP leaders — Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde and Samir Bhujbal — met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi reportedly without the knowledge of Parth and party president Sunetra Pawar, fuelling speculation about growing differences within the party. Pune: Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar’s elder son and Rajya Sabha member Parth Pawar on Sunday met his granduncle and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar for the second consecutive day at the latter’s Mumbai residence amid renewed speculation that a disgruntled section of NCP was attempting to revive merger talks with the rival faction. Pawar was discharged from hospital on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, state NCP president Sunil Tatkare said the merger of the two factions would have taken place in Feb had former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar been alive. Against this backdrop, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the two factions were independent entities and were free to take their own decisions. Earlier reporting noted: NCP merger appears to be in final stages, roles of various leaders would soon become clear: Shirsat Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Sunday said a merger between the NCP and NCP appeared to be in its final stages and that the roles of various leaders would soon become clear. Earlier reporting noted: Late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s son and NCP general secretary Parth Pawar and NCP leaders met Sharad Pawar at his residence in south Mumbai on Saturday to inquire about his health following his discharge from hospital.