NEW DELHI: Was Ajit ‘dada’ Pawar considering an NCP merger before his death? A close aide said he was “100% keen.”The sudden death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on Wednesday has left a political vacuum in the state’s ruling establishment, and reopened questions about a reunion that may have been closer than many realized.Ajit Pawar, the second-most powerful figure in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government and a key pillar alongside Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, was at the center of Maharashtra’s three-power-axis politics. With the Baramati strongman gone, the future of the Nationalist Congress Party, fractured since its dramatic split in 2023, now hangs in uncertainty.In his final days, was Ajit Pawar actively working towards merging both factions of the NCP?According to those closest to him, the answer is yes.A senior aide told news agency PTI that the late leader was keen on a reunion of the two factions led by him and his uncle, Sharad Pawar. Kiran Gurjar, a longtime associate who has known Ajit Pawar since before his entry into politics in the mid-1980s, said the deputy CM had confided in him just five days before the fatal crash.“He was one hundred per cent keen on merging both the factions. He had told me five days ago that the entire process was complete and the merger was imminent in the next few days,” Gujar said.Echoing the sentiment, a leader from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) Eknath Khadse told ANI, “Both factions of NCP to come together.”Ajit Pawar himself had earlier told TOI that reuniting the party was his immediate political goal, with the blessings of uncle Sharad Pawar.The irony of the moment is stark. Ajit Pawar was the architect of the 2023 split that broke the NCP and aligned a majority of its legislators with the BJP–Shinde Sena-led Mahayuti government. That move left Sharad Pawar with the remaining faction in opposition. Yet Ajit Pawar also managed to retain the party’s official identity, with the Election Commission recognizing his group as the “real” NCP and awarding it the “watch” symbol.Despite the split, channels between the two sides never fully closed. Mutual respect within the Pawar family endured, and the two factions recently came together for local body elections, fueling speculation that a merger was only a matter of time.Now, the ruling NCP finds itself leaderless. With senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal not in good health and Ajit Pawar gone, the party faces an uncertain future. Sharad Pawar, the party’s founder and patron, continues to head the opposition NCP (SP).Within Ajit Pawar’s faction, voices are already emerging over succession. Many party members want his wife and Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar to take charge. Others have floated the name of Parth Pawar, while some see Ajit’s son Jay Pawar as the natural political heir from the Baramati bastion.“NCP’s identity goes with the Pawar family and so far the party’s functioning revolved around Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule. Now with the untimely death of Ajit Pawar, many party seniors as well as grassroots workers feel that only his wife Sunetra can take his position,” one NCP functionary told TOI.Ajit Pawar had already begun preparing the next generation. In 2024, he introduced Jay Pawar to Baramati’s political circles and held meetings with local units during the election campaign. After Sunetra Pawar’s defeat in the Lok Sabha election, Ajit had expressed his wish to step aside and nominate Jay as the party’s candidate for the Baramati assembly seat.“Ajitdada was keen to bring Jay into active politics. He was preparing him for a bigger role in the party. After his death, the demand is growing particularly from Baramati for Jay to get into politics. Though NCP seniors are not averse to his entry, they felt that his mother Sunetra, who comes from a political family, will be able to command more respect and keep the NCP flock together, if a merger does not work out,” an observer told TOI.Sunetra Pawar had contested against Supriya Sule in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections but lost. This time, party insiders believe that if a Pawar from Ajit’s family contests from Baramati, no major party is likely to field a rival candidate.Yet Ajit Pawar’s death has complicated what once looked like an imminent reunion. The merger talks were expected to gain momentum after the February 5 zilla parishad elections, but without the man driving the process, consensus may be difficult.Another close aide and NCP official said that the talks of reunion were “only limited to Pawar family members”.He added, “They were still working out a strategy to involve other senior members from both sides to take the proposal forward. Due to Ajit Pawar’s death, the process of having a reunion is likely to halt for some time till the NCP finds its new chief.”Political observers note that the biggest challenge lies in power alignment. Ajit Pawar’s faction is part of the ruling Mahayuti, while Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) remains in opposition. Convincing MLAs in government to give up power — or persuading the opposition faction to join the BJP-led alliance, will not be easy.Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, the working president of NCP (SP), now face a crucial decision: whether a reunion is worth the ideological and political compromises it may demand.Whether the two NCPs reunite or chart separate futures, one reality is clear — Ajit Pawar’s sudden death has altered Maharashtra’s political equations in ways that will take time to settle.
