‘NCP united under Sunetra’: Party rejects rift rumours as she skips Amit Shah meet

The NCP’s defence came even as the absence of Sunetra Pawar during the meeting with Amit Shah.

NEW DELHI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday sought to put speculation about an internal rift to rest, with party leaders dismissing reports of differences following a high-profile meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a delegation of senior NCP leaders in New Delhi.The speculation was fuelled by the absence of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar and her sons, Parth and Jay, from Sunday’s meeting with Shah. The development raised questions about whether the party’s leadership was being sidelined in discussions over its future following the death of Ajit Pawar.NCP national chief spokesperson Umesh Patil rejected reports suggesting that Sunetra Pawar and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar had been excluded from the Delhi discussions, describing the claims as “incorrect, baseless and misleading”.Patil accused sections of the media of giving the meeting an unnecessary political angle and creating an impression that the party was divided.“Attempts are being made to give an unnecessary political twist to the meeting and create a narrative of internal differences and lack of coordination within the party. The NCP is an important constituent of the Mahayuti alliance and remains united under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar,” he said.He also urged the media to verify information before reporting on the party.“Do not politicise formal meetings between leaders of alliance partners. Speculation should not be portrayed as fact,” the NCP leader added.

NCP leaders meet after Delhi parleys

The delegation that met Shah late on Sunday included Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Dilip Walse Patil, Hassan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde.After returning to Maharashtra, the leaders held closed-door discussions at Bhujbal’s residence. Walse Patil, who was part of the delegation, told PTI that all the leaders who had met Shah had returned to the state.“The core group will meet now and DCM Sunetra Pawar in the evening,” Walse Patil said.Patil said Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had met Shah earlier to discuss issues facing the party after Ajit Pawar’s death. During that meeting, she had informed Shah that a delegation of senior party leaders would meet him and requested an appointment.“Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had earlier met Shah and discussed various issues facing the party following the death of Ajit Pawar. During that meeting, she had informed Shah that a delegation of senior party leaders would meet him and requested him to give them time,” Patil said.

He added that the delegation comprised senior leaders familiar with key decisions taken during Ajit Pawar’s tenure, issues concerning Maharashtra and matters related to the party.The meeting with Shah comes after a setback for the NCP, which recently lost the Aurangabad Graduates constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, a seat it had held for 18 years.It has also been seeking the finance portfolio, which was held by Ajit Pawar until his death in a plane crash in January this year.Against this backdrop, the absence of Sunetra Pawar and her sons from the Delhi meeting added to questions about coordination and decision-making within the party.