'Ajit Pawar Was Discussing Merger With NCP (SP) Leaders,' Says Hasan Mushrif

Pune: Senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif on Friday admitted that the late party president Ajit Pawar was holding talks with NCP (SP) leaders on the merger of the two factions.

Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, Mushrif, a cabinet minister in Maharashtra, said the situation has changed after Ajit Pawar's death in an air crash last month, and before taking any decision, his party will have to take the ruling ally BJP into confidence.

"I have said it many times that Ajit Pawar was discussing the merger of the two NCPs... no (other) leader from NCP was part of it. We are not claiming that no discussion about merger took place. (But) Now, after the demise of Ajit dada, the situation has changed. We will have to take BJP into confidence," he said.

He further said that the party will take decision as per the wishes of Ajit Pawar's wife and deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.

"We used to get calls (from Ajit Pawar) that if both the factions come together, they will have to contest the (local body) polls on one symbol. But beyond this, dada never talked to us (about merger )," claimed Mushrif.

While the NCP (SP) leaders including Sharad Pawar have said that Ajit Pawar was keen on reuniting the party, NCP leaders have indicated that they are in no hurry to expedite the process.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

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