‘Even before Ajit Pawar’s ashes were immersed, they raised merger issue’: BJP slams Sharad Pawar’s ‘desperation’

While speaking to The Indian Express Monday, Keshav Upadhye, chief spokesperson of Maharashtra BJP, said, “The NCP is with the NDA and Mahayuti. If Sharad Pawar’s party wants to join hands with the NCP, it will have to join the government. In that case, what will happen to its secular agenda?”

“Why is Sharad Pawar’s party so desperate to merge with NCP? Even before the mourning period ended and before Ajit Pawar’s ashes were immersed, they raised the issue of a merger. Why are they in such a hurry to merge?” Upadhye asked.

However, last Saturday, NCP founder Sharad Pawar distanced himself from recent developments, saying that several decisions reported were internal matters of the Ajit Pawar-led faction and had not been discussed with his group.

The senior Pawar told reporters discussions regarding the possible merger of the two NCP factions had been underway, but now appear uncertain.

‘Sharad Pawar’s HMV’

Upadhye also posted on social media, questioning Sharad Pawar’s credibility and his party’s desperation to merge.

“Sharad Pawar speaks, and his ‘HMV’—His Master’s Voice—ecosystem mindlessly echoes those words as the absolute truth, without thought or question. This is no longer an exception; it has become the standard practice. Given the politics that the Pawar faction initiated following the unfortunate accidental death of Ajit Pawar, questions should have actually been raised regarding Sharad Pawar’s own credibility. Instead, criticism was conveniently aimed at Sunetra Pawar and the BJP. This is not political honesty, but rather an attempt to evade responsibility,” Upadhye’s post loosely translated from Marathi read.

Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, was sworn in Saturday as the state’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister.

This situation, he said, raises some simple yet unsettling questions.

“On the very day the accident occurred, the Pawar faction began discussions about a merger, and Sharad Pawar himself expressed agreement. Actually, no one from the NCP had officially demanded such a discussion. So, what exactly was the need to push this subject forward with such haste?” he asked.

‘Sign of the Pawar faction’s political helplessness?’

Upadhye said that by raising the issue of merger at the wrong time, the NCP (SP) only showed its desperation. “Was the talk of a merger a sign of the Pawar faction’s political helplessness? Because at that moment, it was clear that Ajit Pawar would remain with the NDA and Mahayuti,” he said.

“If a merger were on the horizon, then what would happen to Sharad Pawar’s so-called ‘secular’ stance? Was the ideology that the media never tired of praising suddenly folded away and set aside?”

Upadhye said if a merger was being considered, why did no one, not even Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut, wonder what would happen to the UPA at the Centre and the MVA in the state?

“The most important question of all… Why didn’t Sharad Pawar himself take a clear stand by saying no discussions regarding a merger should take place right now? He should have said, as the elder of the family, I stand firmly behind Sunetra Pawar. He should have said I will accept whatever decisions she makes. We shall hold political discussions only after the period of mourning is over.”

“What exactly is the reason that Sharad Pawar could not take this stance—one that would have displayed restraint, maturity, and a high moral ground?”

Tatkare’s statement was seen as a clear message to the NCP (SP) to decide whether it wants to join the NDA and leave the opposition MVA comprising the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).