There is a lot of turmoil in the politics of Maharashtra these days. Talks about the merger of the two camps of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—Sharad Pawar faction and Ajit Pawar faction—are floating in the corridors from Delhi to Mumbai. If sources are to be believed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is at the center of this entire game and is trying to bring both the factions together to expand the NDA clan. Under this ‘Mission Merger’, both the factions have also been offered a ministerial post at the Centre.
What is BJP’s ‘NDA plan’?
BJP wants important bills like women’s reservation and Lok Sabha delimitation to be passed easily in the monsoon session of Parliament. In the last session, these bills were stuck due to lack of majority, so BJP is now trying to unite its allies. Many secret meetings have also taken place behind the scenes to convince these two groups. The recent meetings of leaders like Jayant Patil, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are an indication that something big is brewing.
The war of ‘rights’ within the Pawar family
Even though BJP is pushing for merger, the path is not so easy. There is a fight for supremacy within the NCP. Late former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth Pawar are said to be strongly against this merger. According to sources, they do not want the control of the party to once again go into the hands of Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule. On the other hand, most of the NCP MLAs and senior leaders are in favor of reuniting, as they fear that the Parth-Sunetra duo will not be able to effectively handle the party in the face of the BJP and the Shinde faction.
What will be the conditions of Sunetra Pawar?
Amidst the merger discussions, it is also being speculated that if the Sunetra Pawar faction agrees to it, then their conditions may be stricter. There is talk that he may demand to remain on the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the Maharashtra government and keep the post of National President of the party. However, currently both the parties are publicly rejecting the news of the merger. Supriya Sule has said that this issue was over when Ajit Pawar died, but possibilities never end in politics.
changing equation of politics
Dissatisfaction within the party has increased since the death of Ajit Pawar. Angered by the sidelining of old and experienced leaders, MLAs are now planning their future strategy. NCP leader Sunil Tatkare’s statement that ‘equations in politics can change in the blink of an eye’ clearly indicates that anything is possible at the moment. If this ‘plan’ of BJP is successful, then big changes can be seen in the politics of Maharashtra as well as Delhi.
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