NCP merger rumours damage Sharad Pawar’s image, says Sanjay Raut

• Sanjay Raut says speculation about an NCP merger and an NDA alliance damages Sharad Pawar’s image.

• The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader maintains that Pawar’s party remains part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and INDIA bloc.

• A Saamana editorial questions the merger rumours and criticises the Sunetra Pawar-led faction.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday dismissed speculation about a merger between the rival NCP factions, saying suggestions that Sharad Pawar’s party could join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance were damaging the veteran leader’s image.

Speaking to reporters, Raut maintained that the Nationalist Congress Party founded and led by Sharad Pawar was the original organisation. He described the proposed reunification as a myth and asserted that leaders of the Sharad Pawar faction would not align with the Sunetra Pawar-led party.

His remarks echoed an editorial in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana, which questioned the speculation surrounding a possible merger and the political positions that might follow.

The editorial referred to rumours that reunification was nearing completion, with Sharad Pawar tipped to become national president of the combined party and Sunetra Pawar its working president.

It also cited speculation that NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad could enter the Maharashtra government, while Baramati MP Supriya Sule could receive a Union cabinet berth. These purported arrangements were presented as rumours, rather than confirmed developments.

The editorial stressed that Sharad Pawar and his party remained constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra and the INDIA bloc nationally. Suggestions of a move towards the NDA, it argued, undermined his political standing.

Raut separately claimed that the Sharad Pawar-led faction, including Patil, Shashikant Shinde and Sule, would not join hands with Sunetra Pawar’s party.

The editorial also criticised the Sunetra-backed faction, questioning its ideological foundations. It argued that any individual ambitions for ministerial office should not come at the expense of the principles associated with Sharad Pawar.

Discussions with a faction aligned with the BJP, it added, created uncertainty about political loyalties and were inconsistent with Maharashtra’s political traditions.

With PTI inputs