| 17 July 2023
In a bid to salvage the fractured Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare, and Praful Patel, all prominent members of the NCP breakaway faction, held a crucial meeting with party founder Sharad Pawar at the YB Chavan Centre. This marked the second meeting between the rebel group and Sharad Pawar within a span of 24 hours, indicating intensified efforts to bridge the growing divide within the party.
During the meeting, which lasted for a considerable period, the Ajit Pawar camp appealed to Sharad Pawar to prioritize the unity of the NCP. However, Praful Patel revealed that they did not receive a concrete response from the NCP chief. "Today, Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare, and I met Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre. We again requested him to keep NCP united, and he listened to us but did not say anything about it," stated Patel, a senior leader within the party.
The previous day, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar made an unexpected visit to his uncle, seeking his blessings at the YB Chavan Centre. The move was interpreted as an attempt by Ajit Pawar to mend the strained relationship with the NCP founder. "We all have come to take blessings from our God Sharad Pawar. We got to know that Pawar saheb was here. So, we took the opportunity and came here to take his blessings," explained Praful Patel.
Sunday's meeting marked the first direct interaction between Sharad Pawar and the Ajit Pawar camp since the latter's controversial decision to join the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government on July 2, causing a major upheaval within the party. Ajit Pawar's entourage during the visit included prominent figures such as Hasan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal, Aditi Tatkare, and Dilip Walse Patil.
The rift within the NCP deepened two weeks ago when Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers in the Maharashtra government. The move triggered a vertical split within the Sharad Pawar-led party, leading to heightened tensions and a struggle for power among its members.
As the NCP grapples with internal divisions, the meetings between the breakaway faction and Sharad Pawar hold significant implications for the party's future. The efforts to reconcile and maintain unity within the NCP are crucial for its stability and effectiveness as a political force in Maharashtra. The coming days will undoubtedly shed light on whether these meetings will yield any concrete outcomes or further deepen the existing divide within the party.
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