Issue of merger not before us, says NCP amid claims by Sharad Pawar-led party

He made it clear that organisational matters, not merger talks, are the party’s immediate priority. “The issue of merger is not before us. After losing our deity, our focus is the national convention on February 26, where our mother figure, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Dada Pawar, will be elected national president,” he said.

Paranjape added that under her leadership and the guidance of senior leaders such as Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif and Dhananjay Munde, the party would work to strengthen its base within the ruling Mahayuti alliance and carry forward Ajit Pawar’s vision.

The statement came a day after NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that not only had a merger been finalised, but Shirur MP Amol Kolhe was slated to become the state president of a unified NCP. The ruling NCP rubbished the assertion, calling it a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

“Candidates of his party fighting elections on the clock symbol does not mean merger. NCP-SP MLA Bapu Pathare’s son fought an election from the BJP. Does that mean NCP-SP has merged with the BJP?” Paranjape asked.

The NCP also defended Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, a leader of the Telugu Desam Party, after Rohit Pawar sought his removal pending inquiry into the aircraft crash that killed Ajit Pawar. Pawar had alleged a conflict of interest between the TDP and VSR Ventures, the company that supplied the crashed aircraft.

Paranjape said that Naidu, along with Murlidhar Mohol, had ordered an inquiry through the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the very first day. “The Black Box data will certainly be recovered. Whether it is the VSR company, the pilot, or the track record… everything must be probed,” he said.