Maharashtra Politics: NCP to Hold High-Level Meet Today Amid Buzz Over Sunetra Pawar’s Deputy CM Prospects
Meeting at Vidhan Bhavan fuels buzz over leadership change and possible reunification of party factions
Mumbai, Jan 31: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has convened a legislature party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan at 2 pm on Friday, directing all its MLAs and MLCs in Maharashtra to attend.
Called by NCP Maharashtra Pradesh president Sunil Tatkare, the meeting comes at a time of intense political speculation surrounding Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar’s possible elevation as the party’s legislative leader and her potential induction as Deputy Chief Minister.
While Tatkare refrained from confirming the agenda, he said the party continues to grapple with the absence of Ajit Pawar. “We still believe Dada is with us. It is extremely painful to come to the party office today without him. Beyond this, I have nothing more to say,” he stated.
According to sources, the meeting is expected to formally endorse Sunetra Pawar as the leader of the NCP legislature party. A swearing-in ceremony could follow later in the day, with Sunetra currently serving as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Late on Thursday night, Sunetra Pawar was seen arriving at Devgiri Bungalow in Mumbai, the official residence previously allotted to Ajit Pawar, further fuelling political buzz.
Meanwhile, talks of unifying the two NCP factions have resurfaced. Kiran Gujar, a close associate of the Pawar family and member of Vidya Pratishthan, earlier said that Ajit Pawar’s final wish was to see the party reunited.
Amid the unfolding developments, the Congress party has raised questions over the timing of Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash earlier this week. Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that discussions on party reunification were underway when the incident occurred, calling for a high-level probe to ascertain the circumstances.
The two NCP factions had previously contested municipal elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together, and negotiations were ongoing for future local body polls, including Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections.
Ajit Pawar, who served as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, died in a plane crash in Baramati earlier this week.
