Ajit Pawar Pushed Hard for NCP Merger—Entire Process Done, Aide Confirms Pre-Crash
Ajit Pawar was fully committed to merging NCP factions, a process completed days before his death in a plane crash.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was fully committed to merging the two rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the process for reunification was nearly complete before his death, according to his close aide Kiran Gujar. Speaking to Press Trust of India on Thursday, Gujar said the merger was expected to materialise within days.
Gujar, who has been associated with Ajit Pawar since before his entry into politics in the mid-1980s, said the leader had personally confided in him about the development just five days before his fatal plane crash. He claimed Pawar was “100 per cent keen” on bringing both factions together and had indicated that all formalities had been finalised.
According to Gujar, Ajit Pawar had also conveyed similar intentions to select journalists during recent civic polls, stating that he wanted to merge his faction with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) while his uncle was still in good health. The two factions had jointly contested the January 15 civic elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad and later decided to continue their alliance for the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections.
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Gujar said discussions on the merger had progressed positively with senior leaders, including Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule. He added that there were clear indications the senior Pawar would have endorsed the move and that Ajit Pawar had prepared a detailed roadmap for the future of a united party.
Describing Ajit Pawar’s death as a major setback, Gujar said the tragedy had made it even more important for both factions to unite and work together for the development of Baramati and Maharashtra. He emphasised that several positive political initiatives were in the pipeline before the leader’s sudden demise.
Reflecting on Ajit Pawar’s early political journey, Gujar recalled that Pawar was initially reluctant to enter politics after winning the election to the Chhatrapati Cooperative Sugar Mill in 1981. However, he later emerged as a key young leader in Baramati during Sharad Pawar’s tenure as chief minister, a role Gujar said would be difficult to replicate in the future.
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