The possibility of a reunion between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its rival NCP (SP) – a matter of curiosity in political circles for many months — may have been realised sooner had Ajit Pawar been alive, senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare has indicated. His remarks came even as deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, and a cohort of senior leaders called on on NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar at Breach Candy Hospital, where he is being treated for chest congestion.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also spoke to Sharad Pawar’s daughter and NCP (SP) national working president Supriya Sule earlier for an update on his health status.
When reporters asked him about the meeting, Patel made light of it saying, “Saheb, in his own style, laughingly asked what is going on in politics. Parth has reportedly ruffled feathers by assuming control of the organisation since his mother took over the reins, leading to an internal rift within the NCP. “It was Ajit Dada’s wish, and a muhurat had also been decided for the reunification.
People in the know of things, however, said that Sharad Pawar and Patel have decided to meet on November 10, further fuelling speculation of a merger.
Endorsing Tatkare’s statement, Maharashtra NCP (SP) chief Shashikant Shinde told reporters in Navi Mumbai that if the two NCP factions had reunited, the results of the recently held legislative council elections would have been different. Tatkare’s statement on Friday assumes significance on the back of the party’s national working president, Praful Patel, meeting Sharad Pawar at the hospital on Thursday night, when he is learnt to have asked Patel about what had transpired at the NCP leaders’ meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday. Six top veteran leaders met Shah on Sunday evening in the absence of party president Sunetra Pawar and her elder son, Parth Pawar. Subsequently, on Wednesday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Sharad Pawar to enquire about his health, he assured the veteran leader that his daughter, Baramati MP Supriya Sule, was ready to take care of the country along with him, and urging the latter to rest , according to Vitthal Maniyar, a close friend of Pawar. Other leaders who dropped by to meet Sharad Pawar at the hospital on Friday are NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat and Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam.
