Mumbai: A day after assuming charge as deputy chief minister, Sunetra Pawar on Wednesday met prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah in two separate meetings in New Delhi, along with top Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders including national working president Praful Patel and Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare.
The leaders discussed difficulties in merging the two NCP factions headed by Sharad Pawar and Sunetra Pawar, tipped to be the next NCP president after the death of her husband Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28, party insiders said.
Though Ajit Pawar himself was part of the merger talks prior to his death, several NCP leaders have strong reservations against the move. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) leadership has, on the other hand, been publicly calling for a merger.
Officially, the NCP maintained that Modi and Shah lauded Sunetra Pawar for taking on the deputy chief minister’s role keeping aside her grief and assured her of all support.
“There was no point in having political discussions today,” Tatkare told reporters after the meetings in New Delhi.
Parth and Jay Pawar, sons of Sunetra and Ajit Pawar, were present at both meetings. Later, Sunetra Pawar also met the top NCP leadership where the upcoming national executive committee meeting was discussed.
Sunetra Pawar’s meeting with the prime minister at his office in the Parliament premises commenced at 11am and lasted nearly 40 minutes. A range of issues were discussed at the meeting, including incomplete merger talks of the two NCP factions and election of the new NCP president, sources privy to the discussion said. The line of conversation with the union home minister during the subsequent meeting was similar, they noted.
According to sources, during both meetings, top NCP leaders expressed a number of difficulties in merging the two parties, implying it should not be done. They said that controlling Sharad Pawar would be a major problem and it was not clear what his role would be in the new outfit. The NCP would also have to share ministerial positions in the state cabinet with NCP (SP) leaders, which would create a fresh set of problems, they said.
“We have several MLAs who are upset for not being made a minister and have been waiting for a reshuffle, as assured by the late Ajit Pawar. They would revolt if NCP (SP) leaders are made ministers now,” a senior NCP leader who attended the meeting told HT.
MLAs who have been insisting on ministerial berths include Sangram Jagtap, Sunil Shelke and Sanjay Bansode.
“Both PM Modi and Shah heard us and our views on the merger but chose to reserve their thoughts,” the NCP leader quoted earlier said.
In a separate meeting, Sunetra Pawar met top NCP leaders and discussed convening a national executive committee meeting where she is likely to be elected as the new NCP president, replacing Ajit Pawar. The meeting is likely to be held in the last week of February, NCP insiders revealed.
Sunetra Pawar also met vice president CP Radhakrishnan in New Delhi but did not resign from the Rajya Sabha. The NCP leadership is of the opinion that she has six months time to take a decision, and is expected to contest the by-election from the Baramati assembly constituency in place of her late husband.
Speaking to reporters later in the day, Tatkare denied any political discussions with Modi and Shah.
“Sunetra Vahini met Modi ji and Amit bhai and both of them expressed their sympathy. They assured her all support from the Centre and encouraged her decision to take over as deputy CM position keeping aside her own grief and sorrow for the sake of people,” he said.
Tatkare, who has expressed strong reservations against a merger, also asked the NCP (SP) leadership to clarify its position on being a part of the NDA coalition if it was so keen on a merger.
“We are part of the NDA coalition and are sure to remain with it. There should be clarity on if they are willing to be part of the NDA too. Merger talks can be taken forward only after that,” he said.
He also claimed that Ajit Pawar had been in favour of joining hands with the BJP since 2014, and the same was a major reason behind the split in the NCP in 2023.