Ajit Pawar with Nationalist Congress President (NCP) Sharad Pawar during a meeting at NCP office, in Mumbai on Nov. 3, 2019.
Photo: PTI
The two factions had planned to announce the merger through a joint press conference after the elections. With the merger, potential leaders are being discussed, including Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, Supriya Sule, and Praful Patel to take the mantle of the party, sources told the channel.
Sources suggest Sunetra Pawar is the preferred choice to lead the party, but Praful Patel may be considered if technical or political issues arise. The NCP was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, and the party split in 2023 when Ajit Pawar joined the ruling Mahayuti government with several close associates.
After contesting the January 15 civic elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together, the two factions decided to continue the tie-up for the next month’s Zilla Parishad elections too.
Ajit Pawar (66) and four others were killed when the chartered plane carrying them crashed at the Baramati airport in Pune district on Wednesday.
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