Sunetra Pawar sidelined? NCP clears air after top party leaders meet Amit Shah

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday dismissed reports of internal differences over a meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and its senior leaders in Delhi, insisting that the meeting had been planned in advance and that the party remained united under Sunetra Pawar's leadership.

NCP national chief spokesperson Umesh Patil rejected claims that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and party president Sunetra Pawar and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar had been sidelined, calling them “incorrect, baseless and misleading”, news agency PTI reported.

The clarification came after senior NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Dilip Walse Patil, Hassan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde met Shah in Delhi on Monday morning. The meeting fuelled speculation that the BJP was exploring a merger of the two NCP factions to strengthen the NDA, potentially sidelining Sunetra Pawar, the wife of late Ajit Pawar, and his son Parth.

Patil said the meeting had been arranged earlier. He added that Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had already met Shah to discuss issues facing the party following Ajit Pawar's death. During that interaction, Sunetra Pawar had told Shah that a delegation of senior party leaders would meet him and had sought an appointment, Patil said.

The NCP leaders also raised matters concerning their respective constituencies and held informal discussions with leaders of other Mahayuti constituents, Patil said.

Patil said attempts were being made to give the meeting an unnecessary political angle and build a narrative about internal differences and a lack of coordination in the NCP. He said the party was an important constituent of the Mahayuti alliance and continued to stand united under Sunetra Pawar's leadership.

He urged the media to verify facts before publishing reports about the NCP. Formal meetings between leaders of alliance partners should not be politicised, and speculation should not be presented as fact, he added.

The NCP reiterated that the Delhi meeting was a pre-arranged formal interaction concerning party, state and constituency-related issues, rejecting suggestions that it reflected divisions within the party or that Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had been excluded.- Ends