Pune: Speculations over a disgruntled section of NCP’s attempt to revive merger talks with the rival faction has triggered confusion within the Sunetra Pawar-led party, prompting several party members, including a few MLAs, allegedly “in the dark” to seek clarity from the top leadership on the issue.Amid the differences within the NCP’s top leadership, party chief Sunetra addressed over 30 lawmakers last week. According to those who attended the meeting, there was no discussion on the proposed merger.“While some senior party leaders privately admit that attempts are being made to explore various options, including the possibility of a merger, there has been no direct communication from the party leadership on the issue,” an NCP MLA from Pune district told TOI.Speculations gained momentum after NCP working president Praful Patel last week met NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, then admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. Following the meeting, Patel said he would meet Pawar again after Nov 10, when political discussions could take place. Subsequently, Sunetra’s elder son and Rajya Sabha member Parth Pawar met his granduncle Sharad Pawar twice in two days in Mumbai.“With confusion growing within the party, we want our senior leaders to convene another meeting of all MLAs and address our concerns. We expect a meeting between the MLAs and the core committee members to be held in Mumbai after the Diwali festival,” another MLA said.Even before the meeting between Pawar and Patel, a section of NCP members sought greater clarity from their party seniors on the merger issue.Merger talks had come to a halt following the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on Jan 28. State NCP president Sunil Tatkare had then said no merger discussions were taking place between the two factions. He changed his stance a few days ago and said he was aware of the parleys and the merger would have taken place by now had Ajit Pawar been alive.Reacting to Tatkare’s statement, NCP national spokesperson Umesh Patil said the state party president’s remarks were contradictory. “There has been a complete shift in his (Tatkare’s) earlier stand on the merger issue. As he is the state president of our party, we cannot seek an explanation from him. The media should ask him what prompted him to change his stance,” Patil said.Speaking about the merger proposal, Patil said it was easier said than done. He claimed that implementing such a move would upset several party members, from the top leadership to the grassroots level.“At present, these are two separate parties, each with its own organisational structure across every district. If we hypothetically assume that a merger takes place, several office-bearers, from the block- and tehsil-level to the district-level, would have to step down to accommodate their counterparts from the other faction. This would upset several members on both sides,” Patil said.NCP (SP) has maintained that there had been no discussions on a merger within its party. The party’s MLA and Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew Rohit Pawar met the NCP (SP) chief in Mumbai on Monday.“I visited him to seek his blessings on the occasion of Diwali and to enquire about his health. We did not discuss anything about the merger. It was purely a personal visit,” Rohit said.
