NCP merger still on after Ajit Pawar's death? Sharad Pawar's bombshell claim, Sunetra Pawar's elevation—the saga so far

Despite Ajit Pawar's death casting a shadow over Maharashtra politics and his wife Sunetra Pawar being elevated to the position of Deputy Chief Minister, rumours of a potential merger between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its Sharad Pawar-led faction, the NCP (SP) have continued to gain steam, with Sharad Pawar claiming that an announcement was slated to be made in February.

On Saturday, the senior Pawar admitted that discussions for a reunification of the two factions had been going on for months, with Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil leading the process.

The senior Pawar also added that it was NCP chief's wish to reunite the two parties—"It was Ajit's wish to unite the two factions, and now it is our wish that his wish should be fulfilled."

Sharad Pawar went on to say that the decision to announce the merger of the two parties, one part of the ruling Mahayuti and the other part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), was slated to take place on February 12.

The former Union minister's comment was also backed by NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Shashikant Shinde, who also said that several meeting had been held before the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister's untimely and tragic demise on 28 January.

"There had been discussions and meetings on the two NCPs coming together. But Ajitdada is no more. Some broad positions had been discussed earlier. Now, we will discuss what needs to be done and then make a decision. How others respond is their call," Shinde was quoted as saying by PTI.

He went on to claim that eight to 10 meetings had taken place over the past three months, and even addressed a viral video of a 17 January meeting between Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad.

"After the civic elections, a decision was taken to work towards unifying the two parties. This position was also conveyed to Sharad Pawar," Shinde said.

"Ajit Pawar's passing is a great loss to Maharashtra. When the state is in mourning, why this decision was taken is not known to us. They will have to explain it," Shinde said on the video, which showed the senior Pawar at the centre, with Ajit, and other leaders including Jayant Patil, Rajesh Tope, Harshwardhan Patil and others holding discussions.

The senior Pawar, meanwhile, claimed that he was not even aware that his nephew's wife was set to be elevated to the position of Deputy Chief Minister.

"I am not aware of the swearing-in. I didn't even know that it was scheduled for today. There was no discussion with me about the swearing-in. Her party (NCP) may have made the decision," the 85-year-old said on Saturday, hours before Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

“The names of Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare came up, and it is learnt that they took the initiative. They might have taken a decision internally within the party,” Pawar added, hinting that the two NCP leaders were behind the move.

A merger between the NCP and the NCP (SP) would mark a major shift in the landscape of Maharashtra politics: created by Sharad Pawar in 1999, the NCP had for decades presented a united front before Ajit Pawar joined the Mahayuti government led by Eknath Shinde in 2023.