The process to reunite the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) may have run into uncertainty following the death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar acknowledging that the talks were now in limbo.
Ajit Pawar, the NCP chief and deputy chief minister, was killed along with four others after a Learjet 45 aircraft crashed at Baramati, his hometown, on January 28.
His death has left the future of the merger talks between the two factions unclear, despite months of negotiations.
The discussions to bring together the NCP and NCP (Sharad Pawar) factions had been underway for the past four months and were being led by Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, Sharad Pawar told reporters in Baramati.
"All discussions were held at their level, but it now appears the process may hit a roadblock following the (plane) accident. The talks were progressing in a positive direction, but the accident adversely affected the process," the former Union minister said.
Sharad Pawar said efforts had been made to establish a cordial dialogue between the two sides. However, when asked whether the merger process would continue, he said he was not part of the talks and could not say what would happen next.
"It was Ajit's wish to unite the two factions, and now it is our wish that his wish should be fulfilled," Pawar said. "We cannot bring Ajit back. We have lost him. Now we have to see how to face the situation," he added.
Sharad Pawar said a consensus had been reached on both factions working together and that the process had already begun.
"The decision on the merger was supposed to be announced on February 12. Ajit had given this date, but unfortunately, the accident took place," he said.
During the recent civic elections, which the two factions contested together, Ajit Pawar had told select journalists that he intended to merge his party with the NCP (SP) while his uncle Sharad Pawar, now 85, was in good health.
After contesting the January 15 civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad as allies, the two factions had decided to continue their tie-up for the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections as well.
The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government.
Ajit Pawar was appointed deputy chief minister at the time and retained the post even after Devendra Fadnavis became chief minister following the November 2024 assembly elections.
Sharad Pawar also said the NCP (SP) had no prior knowledge of the swearing-in of Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, as deputy chief minister in the Fadnavis government.
"I am not aware of the swearing-in. I didn't even know that it was scheduled for today. There was no discussion with me about the swearing-in. Her party (NCP) may have made the decision. The names of Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare came up, and it is learnt that they took the initiative. They might have taken a decision internally within the party," he said.
Sunetra Pawar, 62, was sworn in on Saturday as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy at a brief ceremony at Lok Bhavan.
Earlier in the day, she was elected leader of the NCP legislature party. Union Minister Piyush Goyal, meanwhile, said he did not expect the merger of the two NCP factions to take place.
"I personally do not see that will happen," Goyal told PTI in an interview when asked about the merger talks. He said the NCP leadership "was with Ajit Pawar and now with Sunetra Pawar Ji".
Goyal also said that Praful Patel had been appointed the national president of the Nationalist Congress Party. "I don't see Mr Sharad Pawar being invited to join the NCP, given that he has lost the people's trust and the vote," he added.