Sharad Pawar

According to party sources, Ajit Pawar's widow and Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar felt compelled to step into a leadership role, despite personal hesitation.

Earlier, there were reports that Ajit Pawar wanted to give a 'gift' of reunion to uncle Sharad Pawar on his birthday (December 12), but the merger did not materialise at the time.

While the party appears open to relinquishing the powerful Finance portfolio that Ajit Pawar held, the NCP is digging in its heels on the Deputy CM post to retain its relevance within the Mahayuti.

When asked whether this alliance would extend beyond the civic polls, Ajit Pawar said no decision had been taken but acknowledged its immediate impact.

The centre of excellence, funded by Adani, has been established under Vidya Pratishthan, the educational institute governed by the Pawar family.

The NCP (SP) chief appeared to distance himself from daughter and party MP Supriya Sule's remarks defending Parth. Sule had said she didn't think Parth would do anything wrong.

A detailed inquiry is needed into the concerns raised by him to clear doubts (about the integrity of the electoral process) among people. 'Doodh ka doodh aur paani ka paani hona chaiye'," Pawar told reporters.

Addressing the party workers, Pawar said Jayant Patil's proposal will be discussed and deliberated among the senior party leaders before arriving at a decision.

Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit were attending a seminar on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the sugar industry and agriculture sector in Pune.

It is necessary to keep information confidential for national interest… Instead of calling a special session, it would be better if we all sit together for an all-party meeting, says Pawar.

Recently, Sharad Pawar and Eknath Shinde shared a stage in New Delhi at the 98th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, where Pawar presented the Mahadji Shinde Rashtriya Gaurav Puraskar to Shinde

The split in the NCP also changed the family dynamics although exchanges between the two sides have been limited to polite pleasantries.

The stakes are high for the much-awaited civic polls, as they present an opportunity for various political players in the state's politics to consolidate themselves and a second chance for those almost decimated in the recent assembly polls.

Issuing clarification that he opposes the Sangh ideology days after he heaped praises on the RSS, the former Union Minister said, "I admire the hard work of the karyakartas".

While the ideological alignment between the RSS and BJP have allowed them to capture the Hindutva space, the Opposition has been found wanting for a similar effort to occupy a clear space for secular ideologies.

Addressing a state BJP convention in Shirdi, Shah said the people of Maharashtra showed Pawar, who heads NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray their place by rejecting the politics of dynasty and betrayal in last year's elections.

Ajit's faction proposed last December that all MPs from NCP (SP), except the father-daughter duo of Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, will be welcomed into the NCP camp and given appropriate roles.

"All disputes should end… Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar should reunite," Asha Pawar told reporters after her visit to the Vithal-Rukmini temple in Pandharpur on Wednesday.

Sharad Pawar’s NCP is in a brainstorming mode and is contemplating a strategy for its survival. By winning just 10 seats out of 288 in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls, the party is almost decimated

When asked about Ajit Pawar, they said they did not know about Ajit Pawar’s attendance, but the deputy CM’s aides said he is definitely attending although his wife and Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar is “undecided” about her attendance.