Parth meets Sharad Pawar twice in two days, NCP leaders seek to revive merger talks

Pune: Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar’s elder son and Rajya Sabha member Parth Pawar on Sunday met his granduncle and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar for the second consecutive day at the latter’s Mumbai residence amid renewed speculation that a disgruntled section of NCP was attempting to revive merger talks with the rival faction.Parth held discussions with the veteran leader for nearly two hours, fuelling speculation about a possible reunion of the two NCP factions. The two had a nearly two-hour meeting on Saturday also, followed by a separate meeting between Sharad Pawar and senior NCP (SP) leaders in the evening.The second meeting, attended by Jayant Patil, Shashikant Shinde, Amol Kolhe, Anil Deshmukh and Jitendra Awhad, lasted nearly three hours. Most of these leaders were also involved in merger talks with late Ajit Pawar, with Patil leading the discussions.After meeting Sharad Pawar, Kolhe and Awhad told reporters that there was no discussion about a merger and that the NCP (SP) leaders had met their party chief only to inquire about his health. Pawar was discharged from hospital on Saturday.NCP national working president Praful Patel said he would meet Sharad Pawar after Nov 10 in Mumbai, adding to the buzz surrounding the proposed merger. Patel had met him on Thursday when the veteran leader was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. The meeting fuelled speculation about a possible merger after a video surfaced on social media showing the two discussing certain issues.Speaking to reporters in Gondia on Sunday, Patel denied discussing politics during the hospital visit. He said they briefly discussed political developments but did not engage in any detailed political discussions.“A hospital is not the place for political discussions and I did not want to hold any such talks there. I only told Pawar saheb that I would meet him at his residence in Mumbai after Nov 10 and discuss things. But that does not mean we will discuss only politics,” Patel said, adding that Sharad Pawar was a senior leader and everyone wanted him to continue guiding the state and the country.Earlier, seven NCP leaders — Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde and Samir Bhujbal — met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi reportedly without the knowledge of Parth and party president Sunetra Pawar, fuelling speculation about growing differences within the party.A senior NCP leader who attended the meeting told TOI on the condition of anonymity that several senior functionaries were unhappy with Parth, alleging that he had repeatedly taken key decisions without consulting the party leaders. This, the leader said, had led to growing resentment among senior leaders.The discontent reportedly intensified following the appointments of Umesh Patil as the party’s national chief spokesperson and Zeeshan Siddiqui as the Mumbai unit president. According to NCP sources, neither appointment was discussed within the party and several senior leaders were not even aware of the decisions. Chhagan Bhujbal publicly admitted that he learnt about the new appointments through media reports.Earlier on Friday, state NCP president Sunil Tatkare said the merger of the two factions would have taken place in Feb had former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar been alive. After Ajit Pawar’s death, Tatkare and Patel both had denied reports of merger talks between Ajit Pawar and NCP (SP) leaders.The back-to-back meetings between Parth and Sharad Pawar, the meeting with NCP (SP) leaders, coupled with Patel’s announcement of a meeting after Nov 10, have once again brought the possibility of a reunion of the two NCP factions into focus. Against this backdrop, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the two factions were independent entities and were free to take their own decisions.“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the matter. If they (NCP factions) decide to take any such steps, they will consult us,” he said.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in PuneStay updated with the latest Pune news. Download the TOI App.