Four views in Sharad Pawar camp on NCP merger; Rohit Pawar opposes joining power

Talk of a merger of the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions, the two Nationalist Congress Party groups, has intensified in recent days. Senior leaders of both parties are holding talks and meetings, and leaders on both sides are briefing their respective party leaderships and deciding the next steps.

Meanwhile, a key piece of information has emerged from the NCP camp. According to it, on the question of whether to merge and go into government, the Sharad Pawar faction has split into four groups, not two, each with a different view. MLA Rohit Pawar is reportedly against going into government.

Sources said a group of senior MLAs in the Sharad Pawar faction is pressing to merge the two NCPs and join the government. Most of the senior MLAs are agreeable to this.

Sources said that when merger talks were held earlier, while Ajit Pawar was alive, 17 meetings took place. The stand at that time was that if a merger was to happen, Sharad Pawar would not be active in the process. Merger talks are on again, and Sharad Pawar will not take part in the process of deciding whether to go into government with the NDA.

While the senior leaders are insistent on joining the government, Rohit Pawar and MLA Rohit Patil are opposed. However, Rohit Patil has taken the position that he will accept whatever final decision is taken on the merger of the party.

Some MLAs also hold that, instead of merging into the Nationalist Congress Party, the faction should go into government as a separate group.

Working president Supriya Sule has not yet taken a decision on the matter. She has not so far spoken to the MLAs about it either. Sule is in Delhi today for a meeting of a parliamentary committee, while Sharad Pawar is in Mumbai. All eyes are on whether she will meet BJP leaders in Delhi. Meanwhile, it is believed that an important decision on the merger of the Nationalist Congress parties could come in the next few days.