- Ajit Pawar had sought to reunite NCP factions by Sharad Pawar's birthday in December, NCP leader said
- NCP (SP) leader Ankush Kakade recalled Ajit urging talks for faction reconciliation
- Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash near Baramati airport along with four others
Ajit Pawar wanted to reunite the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions last month as a 'gift' to uncle Sharad Pawar on his birthday (December 12), but the merger did not materialise at the time, NCP (SP) leader Ankush Kakade said while mourning the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister.
According to Kakade, Ajit Pawar had urged him and other senior leaders including Vitthal Sheth Maniar and Srinivas Patil - who share a close bond with the senior Pawar - to facilitate a reconciliation. He recalled what Ajit Pawar had told them: "You have good relations with Saheb (Sharad Pawar); please talk to him. Try to see how both NCP factions can become one again."
"Ajit Pawar had told me that we were supposed to come together on December 12, but we couldn't. It's okay; we will come together after the elections. Unfortunately, he could not fulfill the wish," the NCP (SP) leader said.
Kakade remembered his political journey with Ajit Pawar, saying he would "never forget how the late leader handled Sharad Pawar's political legacy".
Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil told NDTV that Ajit Pawar had pushed for a reunion and held high-level meetings for the same on January 16 and 17.
"Ajit Dada's aim was to bring the two parties together. We all came together again, and we held several meetings in this regard. He then met with a key party official. It was decided that we would contest the upcoming local body elections in alliance, and a decision on reunification would be made after that. We discussed this," he said.
Patil added, "On January 16, Dada visited my house, and we held a meeting. Then, on the 17th, he visited Pawar Sahab's (Sharad Pawar) house in Govind Bagh."
Ajit Pawar and four others died on Wednesday when their aircraft crashed nearly 100 metres from the edge of a tabletop runway at Baramati airport in Pune district. The aircraft burst into flames during what officials say was a second landing attempt amid poor visibility. Apart from Pawar, those onboard plane who died included two pilots - Sumit Kapur and Sambhavi Pathak, Pawar's personal security officer Vidip Jadhav, and a flight attendant, Pinky Mali.
After his death, all eyes are now on the Pawar family, specifically on who would wield the power to run. The chorus within the NCP is seeking the appointment of Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP, to lead the outfit as the party president and legislative party leader. However, if this does not work out due to technical limitations or political considerations, NCP's Praful Patel may be in line to take the lead, sources said.
The NCP, meanwhile, has stopped its large-scale election campaigning. According to the NCP, they will not be holding any roadshows, and party workers will only distribute leaflets door-to-door.
(With inputs from IANS)
