NCP merger uncertainty continues as Sharad Pawar cancels Delhi visit, goes back to Baramati

PUNE: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar cancelled his visit to Delhi and returned to Baramati from Mumbai on Tuesday amid uncertainty over the merger of the two NCP groups.

According to NCP (SP) members, Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP, was to go to Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session. “At the last moment, the schedule was revised, and he cancelled his Delhi plans and left for Pune from Mumbai on Tuesday morning. After spending some time at his Pune residence, he went to Baramati, where he is expected to stay until the weekend,” an NCP (SP) functionary said.




NCP (SP) members claimed that the late NCP chief Ajit Pawar was in favour of merging the two factions, and that the unification plan was already finalised. However, his death in a plane crash in Baramati last week not only derailed the merger, but also created a division within the Pawar family. When Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar went to Mumbai to take oath asdeputy chief minister on Saturday, Sharad Pawar had claimed that she did not consult or inform him about her decision.

After the event on Saturday, members of both the NCP groups expected the family to gather together after Sunetra’s return to Baramati. However, Supriya Sule, who is Baramati Lok Sabha MP, was already in Delhi to attend the Budget session of Parliament. Before leaving for Delhi, Supriya Sule visited Ajit Pawar’s mother Ashatai Pawar at her home in Katewadi in Baramati.

When Sunetra returned to Baramati on Sunday, Pawar Senior, his wife Pratibha, and his grandnephew and MLA Rohit Pawar, had already left their hometown for Mumbai.

But Pawar was back in Baramati on Tuesday night, and Sunetra, with both her sons, was also in Baramati , meeting people who visited her residence to offer condolences. According to NCP (SP) functionaries, Pawar Sr will hold key meetings in Baramati over the next few days, but it was not clear whether he would meet Sunetra Pawar.