File photo: Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar
NEW DELHI: The Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday dismissed what it termed a “perception” that it had been aggressively pursuing a merger with the rival NCP group headed by Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash last month.The final decision on a merger was to take place after the recent local body polls and its framework was to be decided through discussions, according to NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Shashikant Shinde.
“A perception is being created that we were pushing aggressively for a merger. This is not correct. We have now decided to rebuild our party. The issue (of merger) has been closed by the NCP (SP),” Shinde told reporters in Mumbai.“There is no point in discussing a possible merger as there is no leader left to hold talks with,” he added, referring to Ajit Pawar, who had split the undivided NCP in July 2023 and aligned with the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction.The Election Commission recognises the Ajit Pawar faction as the “real” NCP.Shinde also referred to his article on the late Maharashtra deputy chief minister, who was serving his sixth term in the post at the time of his death and was the state’s longest-serving deputy chief minister. The NCP criticised the piece — published in the February 2026 edition of the NCP (SP) mouthpiece “Rashtravadi” — alleging that it contained “false and misleading” claims about the circumstances under which the Maratha leader exited the undivided party.In the article, Shinde wrote that “manoeuvres by invisible forces, threats, and a web of false allegations” had created a situation that compelled Ajit Pawar to leave the parent organisation, resulting in the split in the party founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar.Clarifying his remarks, the NCP (SP) MLC said he had not suggested that Ajit Pawar had made a mistake. “I only said he wanted to rectify the division of the party,” he stated.Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal questioned the need for “daily discussions” on a potential merger.“Sunetra Pawar (Ajit Pawar’s wife) is now the deputy CM and will soon be the NCP national president. She will discuss the matter and take a call,” Bhujbal said.“When Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as deputy CM, there was criticism about the haste. Why is there similar haste in talking about a merger?” he asked.(With PTI inputs)
