Supriya Sule rules out merger talks between NCP factions

MUMBAI: A day after Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) national president and deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar addressed the merger buzz between the two factions saying, “You will know at the right time,” NCP (SP) national working president Supriya Sule ruled out a reunion

MUMBAI: A day after Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) national president and deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar addressed the merger buzz between the two factions saying, “You will know at the right time,” NCP (SP) national working president Supriya Sule ruled out a reunion. Speaking to the media in New Delhi, Sule stated that any possibility of reunification ended with the death of her cousin -- former NCP president and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar -- even as NCP Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare maintained in Raigad that there was no substance to the merger speculation.

“I have not received any proposal for a merger, so I do not know which proposal you are referring to. No one has approached me or spoken to me about it,” Sule said fielding questions from reporters in the Capital related to ongoing merger buzz.

When asked about the retinue of senior leaders meeting NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar over the past week, she said she could only speak from her own experience. “We held discussions about the merger of the two parties when my brother (Ajit Pawar) was alive. He discussed the matter with all of us – in fact, a video of such a meeting held at Govindbaug (Sharad Pawar’s residence in Baramati) on January 17, is already in the public domain. Everyone knew in which direction we were moving. However, my brother’s sudden demise changed everything – and the matter ended there,” said Sule, refusing to comment on the meeting between veteran NCP leaders and Union home minister Amit Shah last week, terming it as their internal matter.

Sule’s remarks came hours after Tatkare dismissed speculation about merger talks between the two factions. “Our national president Sunetra Vahini (Pawar) made it amply clear that we will know when the time is ripe, on this issue yesterday. Beyond that, I do not see any substance in the speculation, nor am I aware of any discussions taking place on the matter,” said the 71-year-old leader, a two-term MP from Raigad constituency.

Tatkare was the first to publicly acknowledge on November 6 that merger discussions had taken place in the past and that the two factions would have reunited on February 12 had Ajit Pawar been alive.

He was also part of the delegation that met Shah in New Delhi earlier this month, along with national working president Praful Patel and four other senior leaders. The meeting fuelled speculation about a possible reconciliation. He met Sunetra Pawar in Baramati on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha, on Wednesday.

Responding to the merger buzz, Sunetra Pawar told media persons in Baramati on Wednesday: “I know you people are more interested in the other issue. Despite that, I would like to tell you that you will come to understand things when the time comes.”