Pune, Jul 10: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule on Friday firmly denied reports suggesting that her party was considering a merger with the Congress, saying there had been no formal or informal move in that direction from either side. She underlined that the two parties would continue to work together politically as alliance partners, both in Maharashtra and at the national level, but dismissed speculation of any organisational integration.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, the Baramati Lok Sabha member said the NCP (SP) was not engaged in any discussions over merging with the Congress and made it clear that no proposal had been sent or received on the matter. Her remarks come amid renewed political chatter after senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan recently suggested that leaders of parties that had originally broken away from the Congress should consider returning to the parent organisation in order to strengthen the opposition space.
Sule sought to draw a clear line between political cooperation and party merger, stressing that the relationship between the NCP (SP) and the Congress remains one of alliance, coordination and mutual consultation rather than organisational consolidation. She said the two parties have maintained regular communication on a range of political developments and continue to work together as partners in both the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra and the INDIA bloc at the national level.
According to Sule, the cordial ties between the two sides are reflected not only in their public political engagements but also in the frequency of their consultations on issues affecting Maharashtra. She said she remains in touch with Congress leaders and often meets them to discuss political, economic and social matters concerning the state. She referred to her interactions with senior Congress figures, including Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, indicating that dialogue between the parties is active and ongoing.
Sule said these discussions are part of a broader effort by opposition allies to coordinate their positions on key issues and present a united stand in Parliament and beyond. She pointed out that members of the NCP (SP) and Congress serve together on multiple Joint Parliamentary Committees, where they often deliberate and decide their approach on matters of public policy and governance. Such coordination, she suggested, should not be mistaken for any behind the scenes move towards a merger.
The NCP (SP) leader also highlighted the personal and political warmth shared between the leadership of the two parties. As an example of that closeness, she mentioned that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi had attended her daughter Revati’s wedding in Mumbai last month and blessed the couple. While making the point, Sule appeared keen to underline that friendly relations and political trust between parties do not automatically translate into plans for structural unification.
Her remarks assume significance against the backdrop of shifting equations in Maharashtra politics, where the opposition space has been undergoing repeated churn since the split in the original Nationalist Congress Party. Sharad Pawar, one of Maharashtra’s most influential political figures, had founded the NCP in 1999 after parting ways with the Congress. For years, the NCP and Congress remained separate entities while also functioning as allies in state and national politics.
That equation changed sharply in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar broke ranks and joined hands with the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra, triggering a split in the NCP. In the aftermath of the division, Ajit Pawar’s camp retained the original party name and symbol, while Sharad Pawar’s faction came to be identified as the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), or NCP (SP). Since then, the Sharad Pawar-led group has been working closely with the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) under the Maha Vikas Aghadi umbrella.
It is in this political context that speculation about a possible merger with the Congress has resurfaced from time to time. The latest round of discussion appears to have gained traction after Prithviraj Chavan publicly argued that regional parties formed by leaders who had originally left the Congress should consider returning to the party fold. Chavan framed the suggestion as part of a larger effort to rebuild the Congress as a stronger national force capable of confronting its ideological adversaries more effectively.
Sule’s intervention appears designed to put that speculation to rest, at least for now. By explicitly stating that no merger proposal exists, she has attempted to reassure party workers and supporters that the NCP (SP) intends to preserve its separate identity even while deepening cooperation with the Congress as an opposition partner. Her message also signals that the Sharad Pawar-led outfit does not see political coordination as requiring the surrender of its organisational autonomy.
The statement is politically important because the opposition landscape in Maharashtra remains fluid and highly sensitive to perceptions of unity, rivalry and realignment. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), continues to position itself as the principal opposition formation in the state. At the national level too, these parties are part of the INDIA bloc, which has sought to coordinate opposition strategy on parliamentary issues, governance concerns and broader political messaging.
By reiterating that the NCP (SP) and Congress “were together, are together and will remain together” as allies, Sule sought to emphasise continuity in the partnership without opening the door to interpretations of a merger. The distinction matters because party mergers carry implications not just for leadership structures but also for organisational networks, local power balances, electoral calculations and the political identities of cadres who have long functioned under separate banners.
Sule’s remarks may also be read as an attempt to protect the political space carved out by Sharad Pawar’s faction after the 2023 split. Since losing the original party name and symbol to Ajit Pawar’s camp, the NCP (SP) has worked to consolidate its support base around Sharad Pawar’s legacy, opposition positioning and independent relevance within the anti-BJP coalition. Any talk of a merger with the Congress could complicate that effort by raising questions about the party’s long-term identity and future strategy.
For the Congress, meanwhile, Chavan’s suggestion reflects a broader line of thinking within sections of the party that the opposition can be strengthened if breakaway regional formations return to the Congress fold. But Sule’s comments indicate that, at least in the case of the NCP (SP), the preferred formula remains one of alliance politics rather than absorption.
As Maharashtra’s opposition prepares for future electoral battles and continues to recalibrate its strategy after years of political upheaval, Sule’s statement serves as a clear message: the NCP (SP) is committed to opposition unity with the Congress, but not at the cost of dissolving its own political identity. For now, cooperation remains the chosen path merger does not.