NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday ruled out his party joining hands with any other political formation, saying that those seeking to unite with it would have to join the party instead.
“We are not going anywhere. We will not go with anyone. If you want to come, come with us,” Pawar said, addressing party workers and leaders at a two-day meeting at Y B Chavan Pratishthan in Mumbai.
Pawar’s remarks came amid speculation about a possible merger between the NCP (SP) and the NCP led by his nephew Ajit Pawar, which is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. The remarks also sought to dismiss speculation that the NCP (SP) could join the NDA.
Pawar said the party would have to be strengthened and that there should be no confusion among its workers over its political direction.
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Unification only possible if…
NCP (SP) Maharashtra president Shashikant Shinde later said Pawar had made it clear that any unification was possible only if the other faction merged with the NCP (SP).
{{/usCountry}}NCP (SP) Maharashtra president Shashikant Shinde later said Pawar had made it clear that any unification was possible only if the other faction merged with the NCP (SP).
{{/usCountry}}“The merger of the two NCP factions is possible only if the NCP is willing to merge with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). Pawarsaheb has made it clear that this is the only condition for a merger,” Shinde said.
NCP leaders, however, said there was no proposal for a merger. State president Sunil Tatkare said Shinde’s remarks represented the stand of the NCP (SP).
“As far as our party is concerned, we are doing well and will continue to be with the NDA,” Tatkare said. Senior NCP leader Praful Patel said the party remained with the NDA and that “some conversation here and there” did not mean a merger was taking place.
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No merger proposal yet
NCP spokesperson Suraj Chavan said his party had neither sent nor received any merger proposal. “There is no official talk of a merger,” he said.
The NCP (SP) and NCP split in 2023 after Ajit Pawar and a majority of the party’s MLAs joined the BJP-led government. The Election Commission subsequently recognised the Ajit Pawar-led group as the NCP and allotted it the party’s name and clock symbol, while Sharad Pawar’s faction was recognised as the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
At the meeting, Pawar also said the NCP (SP) would take to the streets if the state government failed to accept its demands on drought relief.
“We don’t want to fight. We will urge the government. If our demands are not accepted in the next two to four days, we will take to the streets and fight,” he said.
The state government has declared drought in 265 of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas and announced relief measures including crop-loan restructuring, land-revenue concessions and power-bill subsidies.
Pawar said several drought-hit talukas had not been covered and pointed out that banana growers had also been left out of the assistance. NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule demanded that funds earmarked for the Shaktipeeth Expressway be diverted towards drought relief and farm-loan waivers. She said the party’s MLAs had decided to donate one month’s salary towards drought-relief work.
“The party is in a mood to fight,” Sule said at the meeting, adding that she was overwhelmed by the response from workers. Pawar also urged the government to create greater awareness among farmers about the relief measures available to them and recalled his experience of handling drought-related issues as Union agriculture minister.