Tatkare's NCP merger remark follows Council defeat, Shah meeting and Modi's call to Sharad Pawar

Sunil Tatkare, state president of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, stirred political circles today with a new statement. Tatkare said meetings had been held on the merger of the two NCPs and that Ajit Pawar had informed him about them. Talk of the two NCPs coming together has since intensified.

It is being said that Tatkare raised the issue deliberately and at the right time. The reason is said to be four developments in the party over the past eight days: a Legislative Council defeat, two political meetings and a call from the country's biggest leader.

The first is the Legislative Council election. In this state election the Ajit Pawar faction suffered a crushing defeat, while the Sharad Pawar faction achieved 100 per cent success. This suggests people trust the Sharad Pawar faction, and the lack of leadership in the Ajit Pawar faction was also laid bare. It has also emerged that after the death of Ajit Pawar, the NCP has no leader left who can take the party forward firmly and is skilled in political strategy. After the election, Praful Patel tweeted and questioned the leadership itself. According to sources, leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction feel the party's good days will not return in the next election without capable leadership, and that it would not take long for the party to fall apart.

The second is the meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Senior NCP leaders met Shah last week. Sources said these leaders assured Shah that they would not discuss a merger without talking to him. According to sources, the leaders also complained to Shah about Parth Pawar's growing interference in the party. Notably, Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dilip Walse Patil, Dhananjay Munde and Sameer Bhujbal met Shah without informing Sunetra Pawar. This made it clear that all is not well in the NCP. Tatkare made his statement on the merger immediately afterwards, so it is being linked to the meeting with Shah.

The third is a phone call. While Sharad Pawar was undergoing treatment at Ruby Hall Hospital in Pune, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called. Modi asked about Pawar's health and advised him to take care. Modi told Pawar, "Supriya Tai and we run the country. Do not worry. Get fully well so that you can bless us." Several meanings are being read into Modi's remark. Questions are being raised about whether Pawar will go with the NDA and whether the NCP will merge before that.

The fourth is the meeting between Patel and Pawar. Pawar was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. Praful Patel met him yesterday and spoke with him for about an hour. Pawar told Patel they would meet on the 10th. This has revived talk about what will happen on the 10th. The question is also what the two discussed, given that Patel is in another party and Pawar himself is unwell: whether they spoke about a merger and whether a merger formula was settled. Tatkare made his statement on the merger only after Patel's meeting. Political analysts say what these signals mean and what happens next will become clear only after the 10th.