MUMBAI: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and other party leaders were to transfer the leadership of an undivided NCP to former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar after the two factions reunited. This was stated by NCP (SP) state president Shashikant Shinde in the February issue of ‘Rashtravadi’, published on Thursday.
In an article authored by him, Shinde also claimed that Ajit Pawar had felt compelled to split the NCP due to threats from an “invisible force”, a term used by political parties in the state to describe the BJP leadership, whose party is the senior partner in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state.
“The activities of the ‘invisible force’, threats and conspiracies forced Ajitdada to create a separate group, which all of us are aware of. However, he was determined to rectify the mistake and was working on reuniting both the factions,” wrote Shinde, a close aide of Sharad Pawar, who was aware of the contents of the article. Shinde also said that Ajit Pawar had been discussing the proposed merger with Sharad Pawar, senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, and himself.
‘Adrushya Shakti’ or ‘invisible force’ was a term first used by Eknath Shinde after he split the Shiv Sena in June 2022. Since then, it has been used by political parties to point a finger at the BJP leadership.
“It had been decided in presence of Pawarsaheb to merge the two parties on February 12. It had also been decided to hand over the leadership of the merged party to him (Ajit Pawar),” Shinde claimed.
However, he said, Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on January 28 had derailed the reunification. “Merging the two factions and rebuilding the party will be a real tribute to Ajitdada,” he wrote in the article.
The NCP has not taken kindly to Shinde’s remarks. “I strongly object to what he’s written,” said state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare, who addressed the media after the article was published. “I object to the remarks that Ajit Pawar was going to ‘rectify his mistakes’. These claims are being made in the name of someone who is no more. I don’t understand why he would say this.”
Tatkare asserted that no merger talks were underway. He also said Ajit Pawar wanted to continue as an ally of the BJP. “If they (NCP-SP) want to join us, would they be willing to join an alliance with the BJP and Shiv Sena? It’s something they need to answer,” he said.