PUNE — Sunetra Pawar slammed the door shut on a reunion with Sharad Pawar's faction, drawing a hard line before Union Home Minister Amit Shah lands in Pune on November 16.
She conveyed her total opposition to coalition leaders in the ruling Mahayuti, making it clear that while Sharad Pawar's outfit is welcome to join the National Democratic Alliance as a standalone entity, an organizational merger remains entirely out of the question. For Sunetra Pawar, who assumed leadership following the death of her husband Ajit Pawar, absorbing the parent faction poses an immediate existential threat to her group's authority within the ruling Maharashtra partnership alongside the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena.
The door is locked.
New Delhi wants those numbers. Central leaders in the NDA have pushed to unify both factions to shore up legislative arithmetic in Parliament, where crucial votes on the delimitation exercise and the women's reservation bill loom on the legislative horizon. Shah arrives in Pune for a scheduled two-day tour across November 16 and 17, with direct talks between the Home Minister and Sunetra Pawar expected to center squarely on resolving the factional impasse.
Speculation of a backchannel thaw gathered momentum after NCP (SP) president Supriya Sule held talks in New Delhi with NCP leader Praful Patel, one of the loudest advocates for an unconditional reunification. Yet Sule knocked down the rumors just as forcefully from her end.
There is no proposal for a merger and whatever talks were on, ended with the death of Ajit Pawar. Discussions happened when my brother was alive. We also had that sentiment. After he passed away, the matter ended there.
Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) President
Sule reiterated that stance in Mumbai on Saturday, telling reporters that her side had definitively closed the book on reconciliation: "After my brother passed away, we have put a full stop to this issue from our side."
A head-on merger would redraw the balance of power inside Maharashtra's ruling coalition, creating immediate friction over cabinet berths and constituency claims.
| Strategic Parameter | Sunetra Pawar Faction (NCP) | Sharad Pawar Faction [NCP (SP)] | Ruling Alliance Objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | Sunetra Pawar | Sharad Pawar / Supriya Sule | Unified NDA parliamentary bloc |
| Core Position | Opposes internal merger; permits NDA entry as separate party | Denies active merger talks; insists negotiations ended with Ajit Pawar | Consolidating numbers for delimitation and reservation bills |
| Current Alignment | Mahayuti (BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP) | Maha Vikas Aghadi (Sena UBT, Congress, NCP-SP) | Expanding Treasury benches |
The merger whispers have already triggered alarms across the Maha Vikas Aghadi opposition bench. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut warned Sharad Pawar against cutting deals with the ruling camp, arguing that a handful of self-interested leaders were chasing cabinet portfolios at the expense of ideology.
"There may be a handful of people in Sharad Pawar's party desperate for ministerial posts," Raut stated. "It is not right for Sharad Pawar to destroy the principles he has upheld throughout his life for their sake. In this game, who will merge with whom is the next question. It does not befit the state's traditions for Sharad Pawar to keep discussing matters with a group that aligns with the BJP and create an atmosphere of confusion in Maharashtra."
All eyes now turn to Pune on November 16, when Shah begins his two-day Maharashtra visit and sits down with Sunetra Pawar to test whether the NDA's parliamentary priorities can bend her outright refusal.