With Ajit Pawar's Death, Merger Of Two Factions Of NCP Appears To Be On Hold

The strong buzz about the merger of the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party that had peaked ahead of Maharashtra's civic elections, has dropped just as quickly after the death of Ajit Pawar -- the Deputy Chief Minister and the man at the centre of the split in the party. 

Sources said prior to his death, Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar- the NCP founder and the Deputy Chief Minister's uncle - had wrapped up their discussions. It was  decided that the two parties will merge - the date picked was February 12, Thursday.

But party sources indicate that now with Ajit Pawar dead, the possibility seems unlikely.

The two NCP factions - which came together for civic elections in Pune and several other places -- have now diverged. 

No one knows what role Sharad Pawar would have played if the two factions had united - whether he would have been willing to become part of the NDA, or retired from active politics, handing over the party to Ajit Pawar.

His Rajya Sabha term is ending in two months, and he had previously said he no longer wanted to return to the Rajya Sabha.

But four days after Ajit Pawar's death on January 28, his wife Sunetra Pawar took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister. 

Sharad Pawar said he had no information about this. No one has any answer on why she was picked to replace Ajit Pawar in such haste.

Those who monitor Maharashtra politics believe that the Ajit Pawar faction is no longer in favor of a merger.

Ajit Pawar's NCP has 40 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly, while Sharad Pawar has only 10. But in Lok Sabha, Sharad Pawar has eight MPs, while Ajit Pawar has only one. 

There is also talk of Sharad Pawar returning to Rajya Sabha, although he lacks MLAs there, he could be the joint candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. 

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Sharad Pawar's daughter and party leader Supriya Sule said now that "Ajit Dada" is no longer there, the two parties have a strong desire to merge. 

Sule admitted that today was the day of the proposed merger, she said given the situation, it appeared unlikely.

Sharad Pawar faction MLA and his grandson Rohit Pawar, has held a press conference in Delhi, where he presented some "facts" on uncle Ajit Pawar's plane crash to the national media, suggesting that it was a conspiracy that should be investigated by the CBI.

Rohit Pawar also believes that the merger between the two parties is now behind them. "However, everyone knows that the final decision will have to be made by Sharad Pawar. He is currently unwell and is in a hospital in Pune. Only when he recovers will we know what he thinks about the merger," he said.