'Kind Of Politics NCP-SP Started Raises Serious Questions': BJP Slams Sharad Pawar Over Merger Talks After Ajit Pawar’s Demise In Baramati Plane Crash

Mumbai: Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye on Monday, February 2, slammed Sharad Pawar and his party for bringing up merger talks between the two NCP factions, calling it a reflection of the “Pawar group’s helplessness.” His statements came as Sharad Pawar claimed that the merger decision between NCP and NCP-SP was to be announced on February 12.

Taking to his official social media handle on X, Upadhye said, "After the unfortunate accidental death of Ajit Pawar, the kind of politics that the Pawar group started should have, in reality, raised serious questions about Sharad Pawar’s own credibility. Yet instead of that happening, conveniently, arrows of criticism were directed at Supriya Pawar and the BJP. This is not political honesty; it is running away from responsibility."

He questioned the family’s immediate move to discuss political mergers after Ajit Pawar’s death, saying it raised serious concerns, "What was the real urgency to bring up this topic so hastily?"

Moreover, he added, "Was the merger discussion actually a reflection of the Pawar group’s political helplessness? Because it was already crystal clear at that very moment that Ajit Pawar would remain in the NDA and Mahayuti."

On January 31, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that his late nephew had finalised February 12 to announce a merger between the NCP factions. “The talks to reunite both NCP groups had been in progress for four months. The responsibility for this was handled by Ajit Dada and Jayant Patil. However, the accident occurred and caused an interruption. There was a consensus between both parties to work together. This decision was supposed to be made public on February 12, a date provided by Ajit Pawar himself,” Sharad Pawar told the media.

Not just Pawar, Kiran Gujar, who had known Ajit Pawar before his entry into politics in the mid-1980s, told news agency PTI that Dada had personally shared details of the impending merger with him just five days before the fatal plane crash. “He was one hundred per cent keen on merging both factions of the NCP," Gujar said.

On Sunday, Maharashtra CM Fadnavis asserted that if the NCP merger discussions had been in their final stages, then the late Ajit Pawar would have shared it with him. A video of the January 17 meeting between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar had also gone viral on social media.

However, Sunil Tatkare clarified that the meeting took place over tea during an agricultural exhibition. Following the meeting, Ajit Dada stated at a press conference that the discussions were limited to local body elections.

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