4 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 3, 2026 21:10 IST
Nationalist Congress Party acting president Praful Patel on Tuesday sought to downplay speculation surrounding a possible merger between the two factions of the NCPstating that the alliance observed during the Zilla Parishad elections was only for electoral coordination and was not indicative of any reunification plan.
“I will not talk about hypothetical issues. I will only talk about my party as it exists today. Regarding the local self-government elections, Ajit dada mentioned that we all participated separately. He pointed out that if our votes are divided, this could influence the results. Therefore, he suggested coordinating with the Sharad Pawar group to establish a consensus. That was the extent of the discussion,” Patel said while talking to reporters at Delhi.
Patel’s comments come amid claims by leaders of the Sharad Pawar faction that Ajit Pawar had expressed his desire to merge before his death. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said last week that a series of meetings had been held with Ajit Pawar to discuss reunification and that Ajit Pawar was expected to announce a decision on February 12.
Shedding light on the party leadership situation, Patel said that as the working president, it was his responsibility to oversee the transition after Ajit Pawar’s death. Addressing speculations over the post of national president, Patel said, “I, Praful Patel, am not in the race for the post of national president.”
He was responding to comments made by MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on who should succeed Ajit Pawar as national president. Raj Thackeray had posted on social media suggesting that a ‘Patel’ should not lead Ajit Pawar’s party, while Sanjay Raut commented that the leader should be a ‘Jadhav, Patil or Kamble’.
Patel responded to the comments and said, “Even when we have not said anything, creating suspicion within our party is ‘dirty politics’. I am clearly saying that a right person will be chosen and it will not be me. Is Raj Thackeray a member of my party? Is he going to decide who our leader is? We don’t need advice from Raj Thackeray or the ‘9 am bulletin’.”
“We will take our own decisions. The party’s decision will be taken through proper process. We have already decided on Sunetra Pawar as deputy CM. The party president will also be decided soon. Why are outsiders commenting? Why are people who have not even participated in an election speaking? My father was elected by the people of Maharashtra since 1952, and I too have been elected by the people. Those who comment on our background should feel ashamed. I sit here as a representative of the people of Maharashtra. The decision of the party “will go in the right direction, for the right person, and it will be someone different from me,” he added.
Story continues below this ad.
Patel also explained that the party leaders had met Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar to convey the party’s support and request her to accept the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
“We asked her to accept the responsibility of the post of Deputy Chief Minister. She accepted that request. ‘Dada’ was someone who never believed in being paralyzed. Once we explained our position to her, she took the decision. We are satisfied that she listened to our insistence. She mentioned that the family is in three days of mourning. Therefore, she came to Bombay on the fourth day and the swearing-in took place. “I don’t understand why people keep creating controversies,” Patel said.