Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president Praful Patel met NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday, November 5, in a meeting that lasted about one and a half hours and has sparked fresh political speculation about a merger or reunion of the two NCP factions, news agency IANS reported. Patel enquired about Pawar's health — Pawar was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday — and confirmed after the meeting that the two had also spoken on politics, though he declined to divulge details.

Source: IANS

India Today reported that during the meeting Sharad Pawar told Patel they could sit together after November 10, and Patel responded that he would be in Mumbai after that date and was ready to meet whenever Pawar decided. Patel maintained that the visit was to enquire about Pawar's health. IANS reported that Patel is expected to meet Sharad Pawar again on or after November 10. The meeting came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Sharad Pawar to enquire about his health, IANS said.

Source: India Today

Denying a merger, claiming a merger

The two factions' public positions remain opposite. NCP state president Sunil Tatkare said there is currently no discussion about a merger, India Today reported; he added that if Ajit Pawar had been alive, both factions would have come together, and suggested that February 12 — a date being discussed for a merger — could have been finalised had Ajit Pawar been present. NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar, by contrast, claimed the merger was certain and that Ajit Pawar wanted the Pawar family to remain united. Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh questioned Tatkare's position. These are claims by the leaders named; no merger has been announced by either faction.

Separately, senior leaders of the Ajit Pawar-founded NCP ruled out an immediate merger or a split, while seeking a collective leadership structure in which senior functionaries are consulted before important decisions, Mumbai Mirror reported on Friday. A senior leader quoted by the Mirror said: "There is no question of a merger at this stage... Similarly, there is no question of going ahead without Sunetra Pawar. She is our leader, and we stand with her." The same leader said the BJP may want a merger of the two factions. Reports of unease over the growing influence of Sunetra Pawar's son, MP Parth Pawar, are reported grievances; the party has denied any internal rift.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

Background: six senior NCP leaders — Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dilip Walse Patil and Dhananjay Munde — met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on November 2, a delegation that did not include party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar or her son Parth Pawar, India Today and IANS reported. The party described that meeting as pre-planned and denied any rift. The NCP split in 2023, and the party has been navigating its leadership since Ajit Pawar's death, with Sunetra Pawar as party chief. What happens next turns on whether the proposed post-November 10 sitting takes place and whether either faction moves beyond denials and claims to a formal proposal — none has been announced.