Praful Patel’s announced meeting further fuels the speculation

New Delhi : Parth Pawar, Rajya Sabha member and elder son of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, met with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in Mumbai on Sunday the second consecutive day he has done so. This meeting has further fueled speculation that a faction of the NCP is attempting to revive merger talks.

Parth held discussions with the senior leader for nearly two hours, intensifying conjecture about the potential reunification of the two NCP factions. The two had also engaged in a two-hour-long conversation on Saturday. Subsequently, on Sunday evening, Sharad Pawar held a separate meeting with senior leaders from his own party.

This second meeting, which lasted for about three hours, was attended by Jayant Patil, Shashikant Shinde, Amol Kolhe, Anil Deshmukh, and Jitendra Awhad. Most of these leaders had previously been involved in merger discussions, which were spearheaded by Jayant Patil.

Following their meeting with Sharad Pawar, Kolhe and Awhad informed reporters that no discussions regarding a merger had taken place. They stated that the NCP (SP) leaders had simply visited their party chief to check on his well-being; Sharad Pawar was discharged from the hospital only this past Saturday.

Meanwhile, NCP national working president Praful Patel has indicated that he intends to meet with Sharad Pawar in Mumbai after November 10. This statement has further amplified discussions surrounding a proposed merger. Patel had previously met with Sharad Pawar on Thursday, while the latter was still admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. A video surfaced on social media showing the two in discussion over certain issues, which further fueled speculation about a potential merger.

Speaking to reporters in Gondia on Sunday, Patel denied that any political discussions took place during their meeting at the hospital. He mentioned that while there was some brief talk regarding political developments, no detailed political discussion occurred.

Patel stated, “A hospital is not the place for political discussions, and I did not wish to engage in any such conversation there. I simply suggested to Pawar sahab that we could meet at his residence in Mumbai after November 10 to talk. However, this does not imply that our discussion will be limited to politics.” He added that Sharad Pawar is a senior leader, and everyone wishes for him to continue providing guidance to both the state and the nation.

Prior to this, seven NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, and Sameer Bhujbal met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. It is reported that this meeting took place without the knowledge of Parth Pawar or party president Sunetra Pawar, intensifying speculation regarding growing rifts within the party.

A senior NCP leader who was present at the meeting, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that several senior office-bearers were unhappy with Parth. They allege that Parth had, on multiple occasions, taken significant decisions without consulting other party leaders. The leader noted that this had led to mounting resentment among the senior leadership.

According to reports, discontent has further escalated following the appointments of Umesh Patil as the party’s national chief spokesperson and Zeeshan Siddique as the president of the Mumbai unit. NCP sources indicate that these appointments were made without any internal party consultation, and many senior leaders were not even informed of the decisions.

Chhagan Bhujbal has publicly acknowledged that he learned about these new appointments through media reports. Earlier on Friday, state NCP president Sunil Tatkare stated that had former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar been alive, the two factions would have merged as early as February.

Following Ajit Pawar’s passing, both Tatkare and Patel had denied reports of merger talks between Ajit Pawar and leaders of the NCP (SP). However, the frequent meetings between Parth Pawar and Sharad Pawar, interactions with NCP (SP) leaders, and Patel’s announcement regarding a meeting to be held after November 10 have once again brought the possibility of a reunion between the two NCP factions into the spotlight.