BJP keen on merger of NCPs, but Sunetra not in favour

MUmbai/ young new delhi: venture nearly the merger of the nationalistic Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) mounted on Friday as people aware of details said the Bharatiya Janata Party was keen on shoring up the strength of the National Democratic Alliance and was in favour of the merger of the two outfits.Currently, the NCP is part of the NDA and the NCP (SP) is part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc. To be sure, NCP chief Sunetra Pawar and her elder son, Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar, are not in favour of a merger, said a close aide of Sunetra Pawar, even as some NCP leaders are looking to garner support from a majority of party legislators in favour of the move.“Both the NCP president and her son are firmly opposed to the merger, as they do not want NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Supriya Sule, to regain control of the party,” said a close aide of Sunetra Pawar.On Thursday evening, Parth Pawar met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.On Tuesday night, NCP (SP) Jayant Patil was at Fadnavis’s official residence, where rival NCP faction’s senior leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare too were present. NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad met deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence in Mumbai on Thursday night.In his meeting, people aware of the matter said, Parth sought to know what had transpired between the CM and the two NCP leaders. Fadnavis declined to share any details, saying he would discuss the matter with Sunetra Pawar, they said.If the merger becomes inevitable, the mother-son duo could press for Sunetra Pawar to continue as both deputy CM and party chief, said the aide quoted above.According to a person privy to the details, the BJP leadership has been in talks with leaders of both parties to set aside differences and unite, thereby, giving the NDA the required heft for the passage of key bills including the constitution amendment bill implementing women’s reservation and delimitation. The NDA which is the largest coalition in both Houses, does not have the required two-third majority needed to pass the bills.In a bid to bring the two outfits together, the BJP has offered each a berth in the Union Cabinet, said the person quoted above.Earlier this week, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule said her party would consider supporting the proposed legislation if it spelt out a uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats across all states. She also clarified that the party’s official position was not yet decided.The person cited above said the party precipitated the efforts to unite the two sides keeping in view the upcoming monsoon session that begins on Monday, as it intends to table the constitution amendment bill, which failed to get the required support in the previous session.“The differences are over power sharing and who gets to keep what position. It has been conveyed (to the BJP) that the late Ajit Pawar’s son Parth, who has now been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, is keen on his mother retaining the deputy CM’s post, her current portfolio in the Maharashtra government, and the NCP national president’s post as well. The issues need to be ironed between the two sides,” said the person quoted above.Fissures emerged in the NCP following the death of former deputy CM Ajit Pawar in an air crash in Baramati on January 28. These rifts have deepened over a period of time with a section of leaders within the party working to isolate the leadership, said a senior NCP leader.“Parth’s attempt to seize control of the party by forming a team of close aides – and edging out veterans who ran the show with Ajit Pawar -- has led to considerable unease among the MLAs. Many of them have raised doubts about the Sunetra-Parth combine’s ability to lead the party effectively, especially when Mahayuti allies, BJP and Shiv Sena, are run by seasoned politicians such as Fadnavis and Shinde,” said a senior NCP leader, requesting anonymity.He added that efforts are on to garner support from MLAs for the merger. “Several MLAs have spoken in favour of the merger if Sharad Pawar joins the NDA,” he said.He, however, ruled out any possibility of an immediate coup in the NCP. “The chief minister may play a crucial role in the merger talks,” said the NCP leader.The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 540, and the two-thirds mark is 360. In April, the government got 298 votes and the Opposition 230. The NDA’s tally has since risen to 319. If the NCP (SP) supports the Bill, the NDA tally will go up to 327, which will still be 33 short of the two-thirds mark, but the government is hoping that some parties may opt for abstaining rather than voting against the bill.Amid the confusion, NCP vice-president Udaykumar Aher accused leaders within his own party of attempting to end Parth’s political career and demanded a berth in the Union cabinet for him.“An unfair perception has been created that Parth Pawar lacks political maturity. Some within our own ranks are attempting to spread the impression that Parth cannot do justice to either the party or the people. This is an open secret. At just 38 years of age, attempts are being made to end his political career before it has truly begun, especially after the demise of Ajit Dada (Pawar),” the three-page letter to NCP president Sunetra Pawar said.“Giving him a place in the Union cabinet would allow him to prove his abilities and provide a fitting response to those spreading such misconceptions,” it added.Officially, both parties denied any merger talks.“When my brother (Ajit Pawar) was alive, a merger was on the table. But after his death, the other side vehemently opposed it. The issue ended there for us,” Sule told reporters on Friday.NCP Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare was more circumspect.“As of today, there are no talks. But tomorrow, when voting on the delimitation bill takes place, we do not know what could happen. Politics changes very fast. We have already seen significant political developments after the assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” Tatkare said in New Delhi.“Political equations can shift quickly.”