Will NCP factions merge? Party’s new gag order puts speculation to rest

Sunetra Pawar

• NCP issues gag order on merger talks among legislators
• Sunetra Pawar set to be elected NCP president on Feb 26
• Party to focus on strengthening its base, merger not planned now

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With speculation intensifying over a possible merger of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions, the party leadership has issued a gag order on its legislators, making it clear that any reunion is off the table for now. The decision was conveyed at a meeting convened at ‘Devgiri’, the official residence of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, on Monday, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

On the same day, the party also decided to elect Sunetra Pawar as the new party president, following the death of her husband Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. The move was approved during a meeting of the party’s core committee, where MLAs expressed unanimous support through a show of hands.

Subsequently, NCP working president Praful Patel said the election will take place in Mumbai on February 26 and that Pawar is expected to be elected unopposed.

Explaining the move to rein in legislators who had been openly advocating a merger with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), party insiders said the leadership wanted clarity on why certain MLAs had become vocal about reunification.

The high command intends to assess whether these calls are the result of external pressure or stem from a genuine perception among legislators that a merger would strengthen their position in their constituencies, according to the HT report.

“The leadership sees no immediate need to pursue a merger. The issue may be revisited closer to 2028, a year before the assembly elections, and assessed in light of the prevailing political climate,” a party insider was quoted in the report.

Earlier, Patel had said that the immediate priority was to strengthen the party's organisation and rally behind deputy CM Sunetra Pawar. "Let us first focus on rallying behind Sunetra Pawar and complete the procedures within the party. We are also going to focus on strengthening the base of the party in the state in the coming period," Patel said while preferring to not comment on issues related to the merger of the NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

Incidentally, NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule had said in the Delhi that merger talks were underway with Ajit Pawar but added there was no point in reviving the matter following his sudden demise.