Mumbai, Apr 1 The president of the Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party, Sunil Tatkare, said he was aware of the merger talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), and asserted that he did not oppose it.
Expressing disappointment that the merger talks were made public while the NCP was mourning the sudden death of its leader and then Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, Tatkare said the real question is "who will merge with whom"?
The NCP will remain aligned with the ruling BJP-led NDA, the Lok Sabha member affirmed.
Immediately after Ajit Pawar's demise 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, saying no such decision was taken.
NCP MLA Sunil Shelke, who was considered a staunch loyalist of Ajit Pawar, and the party's deputy speaker of the legislative assembly, Anna Bansode, recently voiced support for the merger of the party, now headed by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar.
"It is not that I was opposed to the merger. I was aware of the talks," Tatkare told a Maratha channel.
Reiterating his disappointment with the issue of talks being made public when the party was in grief over Ajit Pawar's death, Tatkare said the question is, who will merge with whom?
"We will remain an ally of the BJP-led NDA," he asserted.