NCP Leaders' "Courtesy Meet" With Ajit Pawar's Wife Sparks Succession Buzz

Hours after the funeral of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday, a meeting in Baramati has fuelled talk that the NCP has begun planning its future strategy. 

NCP leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde met Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar. While sources said they urged her to take up the deputy chief minister's post, Bhujbal told NDTV it was a courtesy meeting and no political discussion had taken place in the aftermath of Ajit Pawar's death in the plane crash on Wednesday. 

Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra FDA Minister Narhari Zirwal said the people of the state want Sunetra Pawar to be part of the cabinet. 

READ | Ajit Pawar: The 'Dada' Who Never Let A File Get Stuck, Did Every Work He Said Yes To

Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, and it is likely that someone from the Pawar family will be fielded when the bye-election for the Baramati Assembly constituency - a seat held by Ajit Pawar since 1991 - is held. There is speculation that one of Ajit Pawar's sons, Parth Pawar or Jay Pawar, could be fielded. 

READ | How Ajit Pawar Plane Crash Sends Tremors Through Maharashtra Politics

If Sunetra Pawar has to become deputy chief minister, she will also have to get herself elected either to the legislative assembly or the legislative council. 

Analysts said Ajit Pawar's death leaves a huge gap in the NCP. The leader, they said, was groomed by Sharad Pawar and there is no one else who can match his stature and command the same respect. Leaders like Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel could position themselves as the leader of the NCP, unless there is a reunification with the Sharad Pawar faction of the party, which will completely change the situation. 

Photo Credit: PTI

The NCP, the analysts said, realises that any confusion in its ranks could lead to further loss of ground, especially after the setback in the municipal corporation elections, where it failed to take control of even the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad corporations. This, they pointed out, could be a key reason why the party is in a hurry to find an answer to the leadership question.

Other Faction's Take

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) Maharashtra President Shashikant Shinde told news agency PTI that Ajit Pawar had spoken about taking a decision on the merger of the two NCPs after municipal and local body polls. 

''When we had met for an alliance of the two parties for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad corporation elections, he (Ajit Pawar) had said let's sit together and discuss (a merger) after Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls (scheduled on February 5)," PTI quoted Shinde as saying. 

"Ajit dada was an emotional man and wanted the two factions to come together and the family to remain united... He had felt enough was enough. If the family and parties want a reconciliation, we have no problem. Now, we have to see if we can fulfil what became his last wish," he added. 

Asked if the NCP (SP) was ready to join the ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP, Shinde said, "Nothing can be said as of now. Let's see if there is a positive outcome of efforts towards fulfilling Ajit dada's merger wish. The issue of whether NCP (SP) leaders would like to be in the ruling alliance can be discussed later,'' he stated. 

(With inputs from PTI)