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‘Fadnavis has no right to talk’: Sharad Pawar says Maharashtra CM was not part of NCP merger talks

Sharad Pawar said he would not raise doubts on Ajit Pawar’s plane crash without authentic information. He also denied knowledge of a memorial plan for the late NCP leader.

2 min readFeb 4, 2026 02:02 PM IST

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar addresses a press conference, in Mumbai, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (PTI Photo)

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had no right to comment on the possible merger of the two NCP factions, as he was not part of the discussions.

“Why is Fadnavis taking my name? He was nowhere during the discussions (on the merger). And therefore he has no right to speak about it,” Pawar said, interacting with reporters in Baramati. He added that it was the late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil from the NCP (SP) who held talks on a potential merger.

Last week, Sharad Pawar had said that both NCPs were slated to announce the merger on February 12. Later, Fadnavis dismissed the NCP (SP)’s assertions that reunification talks were at an advanced stage. “If Ajit Pawar were in talks with the NCP (SP) about a merger, would he not have informed us? Ajit Pawar used to share everything with me,” Fadnavis had claimed.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar said that he did not want to speak about Sunetra Pawar taking oath as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister. “She has taken oath…I am happy. Our main aim now is to support each other and move ahead. We have not spoken to anyone about the political situation…If Sunetra Pawar comes to meet me, I will bless her happily,” he added.

He also weighed in on the speculation that sabotage was involved in the plane crash that led to Ajit Pawar’s death. “Till I get authentic information, I will not unnecessarily raise any doubts,” he said, adding that he did not have any information about a memorial in honour of his nephew.

Sharad Pawar also spoke about missing the Union Budget. “ In the last 58 years, I had never missed the Budget. I could not go to the Parliament during the Budget presentation because of Ajit Pawar’s tragic accident,” he said.

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