Baramati (Manarashtra) [india], July 18 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday chose to stay quiet amid reports of a possible split within his party’s ranks, firmly deflecting the speculation by stating, “That’s not the subject to talk about right now.”
The veteran leader’s guarded response marks a notable shift in tone from June, when he confidently dismissed rumours of internal friction by asserting that while rival factions like the Shiv Sena (UBT) had fractured, his own camp remained entirely intact, declaring, “Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs have split, but none of our MPs will split.”
Notably, Working President Supriya Sule also rejected any alliance, merger, or backdoor negotiations with the NDA. In a post on X, Sule clarified that the party had held no official discussions with any media organisation regarding the delimitation issue. She asserted that the party’s position is formulated only after internal consultations and discussions with the INDIA bloc.
“Recent reports appearing in sections of the media regarding the stand of the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar (@NCPspeaks) on the issue of delimitation are inaccurate and speculative. I wish to clarify that neither I nor the party has had any official discussion with any media organisation on this subject. As with every issue of constitutional importance, our party’s position is determined only after detailed consultations within the party and with our allies – India alliance.
Therefore, any reports attributing a definitive stand to us are without basis,” said Sule. The NCP leader further stated that it would be inappropriate to comment on any proposal until the Centre formally tables the revised delimitation legislation in Parliament.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on any proposal until the Government formally places the revised delimitation legislation before Parliament. Since no such Bill has yet been made available, any speculation regarding its contents or our position would be premature,” added Sule.
The rumours gained traction after late-night meetings in Mumbai between NCP-SP leader Jayant Patil, ruling NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, and CM Devendra Fadnavis. The NCP-SP said the meetings were for administrative matters, not political realignment.
Separately, there is chatter that the NDA is looking to bring Pawar’s faction on board to get the numbers needed for the Lok Sabha Constituency Delimitation Bill.
Speaking to ANI on the issue of farm loan waivers, Pawar said the Maharashtra government should adhere to the deadlines it had announced and implement the scheme as promised.
He said ensuring that farmers remain free from debt was the top priority and added that if the government implemented the loan waiver, his party would have no objection. However, if the promise was not fulfilled, the party would launch a statewide agitation.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government had implemented the biggest farm loan waiver scheme in the state’s history after increasing the loan waiver limit to Rs 2 lakh.
Fadnavis said the government had extended the benefit of a complete loan waiver to farmers who had earlier availed relief under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Loan Waiver Scheme but later became defaulters again.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the proposed Agro Convention Centre in Nagpur on Saturday, Fadnavis said, “In none of the earlier loan waiver schemes were those who had already benefited from a previous loan waiver included. For the first time, we decided that those who had earlier received a loan waiver under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Loan Waiver Scheme but later became defaulters again would be covered.”
The Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Loan Waiver scheme has been implemented in accordance with the Government Resolution issued on December 27, 2019. It covers beneficiary farmers with outstanding crop loans and restructured or rephased crop loans of upto Rs 50,000.
