NCP merger speculation dims as Sule closes door on talks

• Supriya Sule says she considers the merger issue closed following Ajit Pawar’s death.

• Sunetra Pawar denies seeking legislators’ views on reunification, The Indian Express reports.

• The statements dampen speculation fuelled by recent political meetings and comments from NCP leaders.

Prospects of reunification between Maharashtra’s rival Nationalist Congress Party factions appeared to recede on Saturday, with Supriya Sule declaring the subject closed for her and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar denying that she had sought legislators’ opinions on a merger, the Indian Express reported.

Sule, the working president of NCP (SP), said discussions had taken place while her cousin Ajit Pawar was alive, but she would not pursue the matter following his death in a plane crash.

She also made clear that she would take no further questions on reunification, according to the newspaper.

Separately, Sunetra Pawar told the Indian Express that she had not asked her MLAs for feedback on a possible merger. Her response contradicted speculation in Maharashtra’s political circles that an internal consultation was under way.

The statements follow several weeks of renewed interest in bringing the factions together. According to the newspaper, speculation intensified after senior NCP leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah around three weeks ago. Sunetra Pawar did not attend that meeting.

Some NCP leaders subsequently maintained that a reunification plan had been settled during Ajit Pawar’s lifetime, with the merger intended for the second week of February.

Sunetra Pawar’s remarks at a press conference three days earlier had added to the uncertainty. Responding to interest in the issue, she had indicated that developments would become clear in time, without confirming whether discussions were taking place.

Her latest denial addresses the specific claim that she had sought legislators’ views. Coupled with Sule’s refusal to discuss the subject further, it leaves the proposed reunification without a clear public indication of progress.

With agency inputs