NEW DELHI: In Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet, the protagonist is torn by a dilemma over avenging his father’s death by killing his uncle Claudius. A similar Hamletian dilemma appears to have gripped Sharad Pawar over the merger of the two factions of the NCP after his nephew Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash.While talking to reporters on Sunday, the veteran Maharashtra leader said that talks over the merger of both NCP factions were in the final stages. He claimed that even the merger date had been fixed -- February 12.
“Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated talks about the merger of the two factions. Even the merger date had been fixed -- it was scheduled for the 12th (February).
Unfortunately, Ajit left us before that,” Sharad Pawar said.However, in a contrasting statement, Sharad Pawar also said that it is now uncertain whether both factions will go ahead with the merger.Why is Sharad Pawar in a dilemma?After Sunetra Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister in the Fadnavis cabinet, it became clear that the NCP - with 41 MLAs - will stay in the Mahayuti government.The decision appeared more evident after Sunetra replied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on X, thanking him for his “trust”.
Now, it is for Sharad Pawar to decide whether he will compromise for the merger and agree to enter into an alliance with the BJP or not. However, Sharad Pawar has on numerous occasions said that he would not align with the BJP under any circumstances.Sunetra in BJP’s trap?Meanwhile, many in the Pawar family are also upset over Sunetra’s decision to take oath as deputy CM just three days after her husband’s death.“When one of them called up, a member of Sunetra Pawar’s family said that she and one of her sons had already left for Mumbai to attend the oath-taking ceremony,” a close associate of the Pawar family told TOI.The sources added, “The deputy chief minister’s post is not a constitutional one and therefore, there was no need to arrange the oath-taking function on the fourth day after Ajit Pawar’s passing. Had the NCP shown the courtesy of waiting for the 12th or 13th day of mourning before making their political move, the other group would not have felt slighted.”The Pawar family now feels that by accepting the proposal without consulting them, Sunetra has walked into a BJP trap, they added.Sharad Pawar’s political successorDue to health concerns, Sharad Pawar has taken a step back from active politics. He was even absent from campaigning during the local body polls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.In his absence, his daughter and NCP(SP) working president
has been calling the shots. She is also being projected as Sharad Pawar’s political heir. Now, amid merger talks, speculation is rife over who will take over as the leader of a united NCP — Supriya Sule or someone from Ajit Pawar’s faction.After the split in 2023, several leaders such as Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare rose to prominence in the Ajit Pawar faction. If the merger takes place, the Pawar family could once again gain control over the party, pushing these leaders to the margins.Will the NCP’s numbers remain the same?If a merger does take place, there is a possibility that several MLAs from both factions may jump ship due to ideological differences, bringing down the NCP’s strength in the Maharashtra Assembly.According to political analysts, if a united NCP decides to join the opposition, several party MLAs could oppose the move and switch to the Shiv Sena or the BJP.Similarly, if the party decides to stay in alliance with the BJP and Shiv Sena, those aligned with Sharad Pawar’s group in the opposition may resist compromising on Phule–Ambedkar–Shahu ideology.Claims and counterclaimsMeanwhile, leaders from both factions have made claims and counterclaims citing the late NCP chief over the possibility of a merger.
While NCP leaders said that coming together for the local body polls was a one-time arrangement, several NCP(SP) leaders claimed that merger talks were in the final stages.Senior NCP(SP) leader Jayant Patil on Saturday said that late NCP chief Ajit Pawar was eager to reunite with his uncle Sharad Pawar and had held several meetings to facilitate the merger.“He visited my house on multiple occasions and held talks over dinner.
He said he wanted to reunite with his uncle by getting over the past. On January 16, we decided to contest the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections together, and the announcement of the formal merger was to be made on February 12,” Patil said.This came after Ajit Pawar met his uncle Sharad Pawar on January 17 and reportedly held discussions over the merger.However, NCP Maharashtra state president Sunil Tatkare refuted any discussion on the merger, claiming that the January 17 meeting was related to local body elections and an agriculture-related event.This followed both factions contesting the local body polls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad together.However, the united Nationalist Congress Party suffered a massive setback in both civic bodies. In the 165-member Pune Municipal Corporation, the NCP won 27 seats and NCP(SP) three seats, against the BJP’s tally of 119. In the 102-member Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body, Ajit Pawar’s party won 37 seats while Sharad Pawar’s faction drew a blank, as the BJP secured 84 seats.In 2023, Ajit Pawar, along with a group of senior leaders, parted ways with Sharad Pawar and joined hands with the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. He had raised objections over Sharad Pawar continuing to lead the party despite his advanced age.Ajit was sworn in as deputy chief minister under the new alliance. The Election Commission later recognised Ajit Pawar’s faction as the legitimate NCP, retaining the ‘clock’ symbol.
