Will the NCP factions merge? Party's new gag order ends all speculation

Sunetra Pawar will be elected as as the new NCP chief on February 26

As calls mount for a merger of the two NCP factions, the party leadership has issued a gag order on its legislators, making it clear that reunification is off the table, for now. The directive was issued at a meeting of MLAs at ‘Devgiri’, the official residence of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar on Monday.

Sunetra Pawar will be elected as as the new NCP chief on February 26. (HT Photo)

Also on Monday, the party formally decided to elect Pawar as the next NCP president, following the death of her husband and party chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. The decision, taken at a core committee meeting of the party, was supported by all the MLAs through a show of hands.

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

On muzzling its legislators, who were publicly vocal about the proposed merger of the NCP with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), party insiders said the leadership wanted to know why a section of MLAs had become vocal about a merger.

The leadership plans to determine whether these demands are being driven by external influences or reflect a genuine belief among legislators that a merger would bolster their standing in their respective constituencies.

“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,” said a party insider.

Several NCP MLAs such as Narhari Zirwal, Anil Patil and recently Hiraman Khoskar have publicly supported talks for a merger between the two NCP factions. Khoskar even went on to say that 30 to 35 MLAs are in favour of the two factions reuniting. “I will raise the issue in the next meeting of MLAs,” he said on Friday.

On Monday, though, Khoskar skipped the MLAs’ meeting. State NCP president Sunil Tatkare first said the proposed merger was not discussed at the meeting. Asked about Khoskar’s statement, Tatkare responded, “He (Hiraman Khoskar) was not present in today’s meeting due to personal reasons. However, all the MLAs decided that the party leadership should take an appropriate decision on a merger.”

Meanwhile, the NCP leadership has decided to support NCP minister Narhari Zirwal, in hot water after a clerk in his office was caught accepting a bribe in the state secretariat premises. “The party has decided to stand by him unless direct evidence surfaces implicating him in any wrongdoing,” said an NCP insider. He said it would be counterproductive to isolate another influential leader after two other NCP ministers, Dhananjay Munde and Manikrao Kokate, had to step down earlier.