Mumbai, April 1 Maharashtra NCP chief Sunil Tatkare has said that merger talks between the two NCP factions were underway when then Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was alive, an admission coming weeks after a denial when the Sharad Pawar-led party had acknowledged deliberations on reunification.
Tatkare also said he was not opposed to the merger talks even as he insisted that the NCP will remain aligned with the BJP-led NDA.
Reacting to Tatkare's remarks during an interview with a Marathi news channel, NCP (SP) state unit president Shashikant Shinde on Wednesday referred to the initial denial by NCP leaders and the subsequent "contradictions".
During his interaction with the TV channel, Tatkare expressed his disappointment over merger talks being made public while the NCP was mourning the demise of party head Ajit Pawar.
"The real question is who will merge with whom?" the NCP state president asked.
Immediately after Ajit Pawar was killed in the plane crash on January 28, senior leaders of the Sharad Pawar-headed NCP (SP) claimed that a merger was in the works before the NCP chief died. Leaders of the NCP had then dismissed the claim, stating that no such decision had been taken.
NCP MLA Sunil Shelke, considered a staunch loyalist of the late Ajit Pawar, and deputy speaker of assembly, Anna Bansode, recently voiced support for the reunification of the two NCP factions, headed by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, separately.
"It is not that I was opposed to the merger. I was aware of the talks," Tatkare added.
Reacting to Tatkare's remarks, NCP (SP) leader Shashikant Shinde said earlier claims by NCP leaders that no such discussions (on merger of the two factions) had taken place are now contradicted by admissions specifying that talks were indeed held.
Shinde clarified that the NCP (SP) has kept the issue of reunification on hold and remains focused on strengthening the party.
The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split when Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti alliance with a group of loyalist MLAs in July 2023 and took oath as the Deputy CM.
The Election Commission had recognised the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the original NCP and allowed the party to retain the original poll symbol, a clock.