Mumbai, Jan 3 The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday ruled out the possibility of a reunion with the Sharad Pawar faction, saying that it will remain with its stand of allying with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, and MahaYuti in Maharashtra.
"The party is an ally of the NDA at the Centre and in MahaYuti in the state. The NCP has recorded a thumping win in Maharashtra under the leadership of Ajit Pawar. Our agenda and stand taken in July 2023 is quite clear. We will continue with NDA and MahaYuti. There is no rethinking in our stand," Maharashtra unit NCP chief Sunil Tatkare told reporters.
To a question about whether a reunion is possible if NCP-SP changes its present political stand (of not aligning with BJP-led MahaYuti), Tatkare remarked: "There are no ifs and buts in politics and I cannot answer such a question."
He added that "family and politics are two different things".
Tatkare's statement came a day after Ajit Pawar's mother, Ashatai Pawar, visited the temple town of Pandharpur and expressed her wish for the reunion of the Pawars.
"I wish that the differences within the Pawar family end at the earliest. I hope Pandurang answers my prayers," she said during her interaction with the media.
Ashatai Pawar expressed her desire days after Ajit Pawar, along with his family and senior party leaders, visited his estranged uncle Sharad Pawar’s residence on December 12 and wished him on his birthday.
NCP working president Praful Patel on Thursday said that “Sharad Pawar is our deity. We have a high degree of respect for him. If the Pawar family comes together, it will make us extremely happy. I consider myself a member of the Pawar family".
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has split into two after Ajit Pawar walked away forming a faction of his own while his uncle Sharad Pawar -- a former Union Minister -- continues to lead the NCP-SP group.
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