Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Feb 2: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Sunil Tatkare on Monday said the party had collectively decided to align with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under the leadership of Ajit Pawar and would continue to stand by that decision. He added that those speaking about a possible merger between the two NCP factions must first clarify whether there is agreement on such a move and which party would merge into the other.
Speaking to reporters in Karad in Maharashtra’s Satara district, Tatkare said, “There should be clarity on which party is to merge with which party.”
He was in Karad accompanying Maharashtra’s newly appointed deputy chief minister and NCP leader Sunetra Pawar, who paid tributes at the memorial of the state’s first chief minister, Y B Chavan.
Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as deputy chief minister on Saturday, three days after her husband, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, died in a plane crash in Baramati, Pune district. Ahead of her swearing-in, she was unanimously elected leader of the NCP legislature party at a meeting held in Mumbai.
Addressing reports that he had opposed a proposed merger of the two NCP factions, Tatkare denied any differences with senior party leader and MP Praful Patel. He reiterated that the decision to join the NDA was taken collectively and later endorsed by the people of Maharashtra in the Assembly elections.
“Under Ajit dada’s leadership, we made a collective decision to join the BJP-led NDA, and the electorate supported that choice. Those talking about a merger should first make it clear whether they themselves agree to it,” he said.
Tatkare also emphasised that the NCP legislature party was fully capable of taking independent decisions, including the appointment of its own leader.
Meanwhile, leaders of the rival NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), including party chief Sharad Pawar, have claimed that talks on a merger were at an advanced stage and that Ajit Pawar had finalised February 12 as the date to announce the unification of the two factions.
Reacting to these claims, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday that if any such discussions had been underway, Ajit Pawar would have shared the details with him.