The two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are coming back together, and they’re planning to make it official sometime in the second week of February, right after the local body elections. That’s what party insiders are saying.
Is NCP heading for a big reunion?
Senior leaders from both sides say Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash on Wednesday, had actually set the stage for this merger, as per sources.
He met with his uncle, Sharad Pawar, several times in December and January, hashing things out. They planned to announce the reunion at a joint press conference after the elections.
Now, leaders from both camps are supposed to meet next week to iron out the final details.
Is the NCP’s merger a political move?
But it’s not all smooth sailing. Some folks in Ajit Pawar’s camp aren’t thrilled about merging so soon; they think it’s just a political move. Over in Sharad Pawar’s group, though, people are pushing for the merger to happen right away.
Sunetra Pawar’s role is turning out to be pretty important in all this.
Besides Sharad Pawar, there are three others in the running to lead the United NCP: Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar; Supriya Sule; and Praful Patel.
But most people inside the party seem to want Sunetra, who’s a Rajya Sabha MP, to take charge as both party president and legislative party leader. If that doesn’t work out maybe because of technicalities or political reasons, Praful Patel is likely next in line.
Sharad Pawar started the NCP back in 1999 after parting ways with the Congress. Fast forward to July 2023, his nephew Ajit Pawar led a rebellion, and his faction joined the ruling Mahayuti to form the government.
Some of Sharad Pawar’s closest associates, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Dilip Walse-Patil, jumped ship too.
Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash
Ajit Pawar and four others died on Wednesday when their plane crashed just short of the Baramati airport runway in Pune district.
The plane burst into flames after trying to land a second time in bad weather. The crash took the lives of two pilots, Sumit Kapur and Sambhavi Pathak, Ajit Pawar’s personal security officer Vidip Jadhav, and a flight attendant, Pinky Mali.
After the tragedy, NCP leader Ankush Kakade remembered how Ajit Pawar wanted to merge the two factions as a birthday present for his uncle, Sharad Pawar, back on December 12.
But it didn’t happen then. Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil said Ajit Pawar really pushed for the reunion, holding high-level meetings about it on January 16 and 17.
