Mumbai: A high-level Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) delegation met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his Varsha bungalow on Friday afternoon, pressing to retain late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s key portfolios and stake claim to the vacant deputy CM post amid uncertainty over the party’s future. The 90-minute meeting, attended by Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Dhananjay Munde, signals frantic efforts to stabilize the Ajit Pawar-led faction (NCP-AP) within the BJP-Shiv Sena Mahayuti alliance.
Pawar, 66, died on January 28 along with four others in a Learjet crash near Baramati Airport amid foggy conditions, shortly after reportedly finalizing merger talks with uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP. His funeral on January 29 drew lakhs, including PM Modi, Amit Shah, and rivals, with state honours. The tragedy derailed unification plans set for post-February local polls, leaving NCP-AP’s 41 MLAs vulnerable to poaching and EC probes on the party’s symbol.
Emerging from the meeting, working president Praful Patel told reporters the party consulted Pawar’s family and aims to “fill the position soon,” fueling speculation around wife Sunetra Pawar as interim chief or deputy CM. “We discussed retaining finance, planning, and excise departments,” Patel said, focusing on continuity. NCP legislator Narhari Zirwal openly backed Sunetra, while Bhujbal echoed family-led decisions.
Sources reveal Pawar family huddles in Baramati could finalize leadership within days, with Fadnavis assuring alliance support for Baramati bypolls.
Analysts note the vacuum threatens Mahayuti’s arithmetic ahead of zilla parishad polls; a CLP meeting looms to elect a new legislative leader.
