Sunetra Pawar to speak about NCP merger plan after Feb 9, says Rohit Pawar

PUNE: After veteran politician Sharad Pawar took charge of steering the ship for his family on the death of his nephew Ajit Pawar, its members on Thursday backed deputy chief minister Sunetra's name as the national president of NCP. While other functionaries showed reluctance to the merger of both NCP groups, the family said that Sunetra will speak about it on behalf of her party.Rohit Pawar, NCP (SP) state general secretary and Ajit Pawar's nephew, said, "There has been no discussion on the issue so far in the family. We will take it up after the mourning period as it is important to know the members' opinions. Since Sunetra Kaki (aunt) has taken charge as deputy chief minister and all NCP MLAs support her, she will speak on the merger after Feb 9.

We can then discuss it further." The possibility of a unification of the NCPs reignited after Pawar took the lead to diffuse the tension within the family when he went to meet Sunetra and both her sons at their Baramati residence for the second consecutive day on Thursday.Before the visit, Pawar also chaired a meeting at Vidya Pratishthan's office, attended by his wife Pratibha, Ajit Pawar's sons Parth and Jay, brother Shrinivas and cousin Rajendra Pawar, and his son Rohit Pawar.

The discussion centred on the proposal of a memorial and a museum for Ajit Pawar in Baramati. After Ajit Pawar's demise, his wife Sunetra took his position in the state cabinet to become deputy chief minister. However, the post of the party's national president, which was also with Ajit Pawar, is still vacant. Recently, BJP's union minister Piyush Goyal, in an interview with a news agency, claimed that NCP's working president Praful Patel was appointed as the next party chief.

Later, both Goyal and Patel clarified that the Union minister's claim was not true.The Pawar family on Thursday backed Sunetra to be NCP's chief. Interacting with reporters in Baramati after the meeting, MLA Rohit Pawar said, "As the Pawar family, we also wish that after taking charge as deputy chief minister, Sunetra Kaki (aunt) should be the next NCP chief. The party's MLAs and many other functionaries have recommended her name, and therefore, we feel that she will soon become the party chief."Sharad Pawar had claimed that his nephew had initiated steps for the unification of both NCPs. However, senior functionaries including Patel and state chief Sunil Tatkare refuted these claims. Rohit, without mentioning any names, said, "It is sad to see some politicians trying to divert the issue for political gains instead of expressing what Ajitdada wanted. The Pawar family is hurt by such politics."Rohit also said that the family sought more details about the plane crash from state and centre and the probing agencies, which will be shared by the family after Feb 9.