KOLHAPUR: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday categorically stated that he had never said his party will merge with the Congress.
Addressing a press conference in Satara on Thursday, when Pawar was asked to elaborate on his statement that "NCP (SP) will merge with Congress" after the Lok Sabha polls, Pawar said, "Mi asa bolalo nahi, mi asa bolalo nahi. (I did not say this, I did not say this)."
Pawar added, "I said NCP (SP) and Congress have been working together from 2001 till now, both were together in the state cabinet too. We have fought elections jointly. Since the ideology is the same, both know it is important to work together."
Earlier, when asked about his interview to a newspaper about the possible merger of regional parties with Congress, Pawar said, "Not all regional parties. Some parties are close to the Congress ideology. For example, my NCP. Since the NCP's formation, NCP and Congress have been working together and for both the ideology is that of Gandhi and Nehru. Slowly, if the feeling of working closer together grows, it would not be surprising."
On whether regional parties like Shiv Sena (UBT) too will merge with Congress as claimed by the rivals, Pawar said, "Shiv Sena (UBT) is an independent organisation. We are working together in an alliance with it, but Sena (UBT) has independent existence."
Several politicians had reacted after Pawar's earlier statement. Ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan of Congress had said whether smaller parties cooperate or merge will depend on the outcome of the LS polls; CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis said both NCP (SCP) and Sena (UBT) will merge with Congress.
Meanwhile, Dy CM Ajit Pawar said the statement made by BJP's Chandrakant Patil, during campaign, that he wanted to ensure Sharad Pawar's defeat in Baramati was unwarranted. "There was no need to make such a statement. When Pawar Saheb was not contesting the election, there was no question of his defeat in Baramati. After that, I told Chandrakant dada to concentrate only in Pune seat and let me handle Baramati," Ajit Pawar said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.