Pune/Mumbai: The rift in the NCP leadership showed signs of widening as just two days after the party’s working president Praful Patel and state chief Sunil Tatkare met CM Devendra Fadnavis without the knowledge of party chief Sunetra Pawar, her elder son and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar met the CM on Thursday.Amid speculation that Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) may be tilting towards the NDA, the party’s former state chief Jayant Patil, who, like Patel and Tatkare, had also met Fadnavis on Tuesday night, conducted another meeting, this time with deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, on Thursday night. Patil said on Friday that his meeting with Shinde was to discuss the disqualification of the president of Urun-Ishwarpur municipal council (from Sangli district). He had earlier said his meeting with the CM was to discuss the same issue.The series of meetings of politicians of the rival NCP groups with the CM and Dy CM has created a flutter in Maharashtra’s politics.On Parth’s meeting with Fadnavis, Tatkare on Friday said he was not aware about it. He added, “Parth is a young leader of our party, and he represents NCP in Rajya Sabha. I do not see anything odd in him meeting the CM.”The NCP is keen on getting a ministerial berth at the Centre if the NDA govt goes in for a cabinet reshuffle. According to sources, both Praful Patel and Parth Pawar are interested in a ministerial post, but there is no consensus on the matter in the party. In recent months, the rift between Sunetra Pawar and Parth on one side and Patel and Tatkare on the other has become increasingly apparent. Several within the party are also said to be unhappy with Parth, who has been tightening his grip on NCP affairs.Exposing the divide within, a letter written by NCP’s state vice-president Udaykumar Aher on July 13 to Dy CM Sunetra Pawar came to light on Friday. Aher suggested in the letter that Sunetra should request PM Modi that Parth be considered for a berth during expansion of the Union cabinet. Aher alleged that some within the party were trying to “spread misconceptions” about Parth with the aim of ending his political career.The letter stated, “Unfortunately misconceptions are being spread by certain individuals within our own ranks that Parth dada is incapable of delivering justice either to the party or the people. This is an open secret.” It added, “It is wrong to spread such misunderstandings about a leader who is only 38 years old and attempt to end his political career even before it even truly begins.”The letter also said that “an image has been created that Parth Pawar lacks political maturity.” Aher said that after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which Parth lost, “deliberate efforts were made to demoralise him. He said he had requested Ajit Pawar to give him an appropriate opportunity, and he had decided to give him a “major responsibility.”Aher stated Parth’s inclusion in the Union cabinet would be a fitting response to those spreading allegations and misconceptions.The proximity of NCP (SP) with NDA members has also sparked fresh discussion on the possibility of a merger of the two NCP groups. Tatkare, who had earlier denied any such meetings on the merger, recently changed his stance and said he was aware of the discussion. The state NCP chief on Friday hinted further political developments were possible when he said that politics was never stagnant.NCP (SP) working president and MP Supriya Sule indicated two days ago that the party would consider supporting the NDA govt’s delimitation bill in Parliament if 50% of Lok Sabha seats are increased in all states across the country. Speaking about the possibility of some MPs from the opposition parties supporting the bill, Tatkare said changes in the political scenario could never be ruled out.“During the last Parliament session, the opposition showed unity and managed to keep 230 votes intact to defeat the bill. However, even before the next session, their votes are already split (with a number of TMC, Shiv Sena UBT MPs switching over). The political scenario always keeps changing, and nobody knows what lies ahead one-and-a-half months from now,” Tatkare said.
