Talk of NCP merger gains pace; Congress's Atul Londhe says Ajit Pawar was set to leave Mahayuti

Talk of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions coming together is rife in Maharashtra politics. The question is also being raised of which alliance they would join if they merged, the India bloc or the Mahayuti. Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe has now made a big claim, saying Ajit Pawar was about to leave the Mahayuti. His statement has revived discussion in political circles.

Talk of a merger has been going on for the past few days, but according to reliable NCP sources, no proposal for merging the two parties has reached Sharad Pawar. The sources also said talks are stuck on how to take forward what had been decided while Ajit Pawar was alive. According to the sources, senior leaders of Sunetra Pawar's NCP are pressing for the merger.

Meanwhile, NCP MP Sunil Tatkare met Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Pratipada. On Tuesday, too, Tatkare and Sunetra Pawar held talks for about an hour and a half. Tatkare then met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Varsha residence yesterday. The meeting has further fuelled speculation in political circles, and Tatkare's meeting with the Chief Minister after meeting Sunetra Pawar is being given special significance.

On the merger of the two NCPs, Sunetra Pawar said that you will come to know about it as time comes. She did not rule out talk of a merger, so it is being said that all possibilities are open. The statements of leaders of the two NCPs are, for now, creating confusion.

Separately, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut claimed that 20 to 22 MLAs of Ajit Pawar's NCP are preparing to leave. BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban responded to Raut's statement. Ban asked why Raut could not make a prediction when 40 MLAs of his own party left under Eknath Shinde's leadership.