NCP leaders meet Amit Shah amid merger and rift speculation
Senior leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction met the Home Minister in Delhi, though the party denies any internal leadership crisis.
Senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Ajit Pawar faction met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Sunday night. The meeting took place following the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, according to reports from The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and Bhaskar English.
The meeting included Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde, Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil and Sameer Bhujbal. Speculation arose regarding the absence of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar from the discussions.
NCP national spokesperson Umesh Patil denied reports of a leadership rift, calling them "false, baseless and misleading". He stated that Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had previously met Shah to discuss issues following Ajit Pawar's death and that the senior delegation's meeting was pre-planned.
Sunil Tatkare, the Maharashtra unit chief, said the meeting with Shah involved discussions on party functioning and constituency issues. He clarified that there was "no question of a merger" and that the party remains united under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar.
The leaders also discussed the Finance Department, which was previously held by the late Ajit Pawar. Tatkare said a decision on who will handle the department will be taken at the appropriate time.
A core committee meeting was held in Mumbai to discuss strengthening the party organisation and the drought situation in Maharashtra. A meeting of all NCP legislators is scheduled for Tuesday at the party office.