Talks on the proposed merger of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions — one led by the late Ajit Pawar and the other by Sharad Pawar — are at an advanced stage and were already progressing well before the Maharashtra deputy chief minister’s death in a plane crash earlier this week, sources said.
According to party insiders, multiple rounds of discussions had taken place between senior leaders of both camps, with a tentative merger announcement earlier being considered after the conclusion of the upcoming local body polls. The sudden demise of Ajit Pawar has accelerated internal consultations while also reshaping the leadership and power dynamics within the party.
Sources in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) faction believe the veteran leader is now likely to resume a central guiding role in steering a unified party structure. At the same time, leaders in the Ajit Pawar camp are reportedly considering the name of Sunetra Pawar, Rajya Sabha MP and wife of the late leader, for the post of deputy chief minister in order to maintain political continuity and family legacy.
The reunification process had begun months ago, with both factions even contesting the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls together under the NCP’s clock symbol — seen as a test of cadre coordination and voter response ahead of a full merger.
The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split vertically in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government and became deputy chief minister. His tenure continued under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after the 2024 assembly elections. Following the split, Ajit Pawar’s faction retained the original NCP name and the clock election symbol after a legal and organisational battle.
Currently, Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) is aligned with the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Party sources said merger discussions involved top leaders including Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, focusing on leadership structure, electoral strategy and organisational unity. Secondary-level talks on logistics and coordination were handled by other senior leaders.
Political observers believe a reunited NCP could significantly alter Maharashtra’s political balance, especially in Western Maharashtra — the traditional “sugar belt” — where recent civic polls showed shifting voter trends. A combined NCP strength of Lok Sabha MPs and MLAs could influence both ruling and opposition alliance equations.
For now, leaders from both sides say their immediate priority remains the upcoming local body elections, which they plan to contest in coordination, describing it as a tribute to Ajit Pawar’s last political initiative.
