The discussion regarding the merger of Congress Party and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) has intensified in Maharashtra politics. A large section is claiming that Supriya Sule and Sharad Pawar are in touch with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Both parties may merge. NCP (Sharad faction) working president Supriya Sule has said that her party will not join Congress.
Supriya Sule on Friday rejected speculations about her party’s merger with Congress. No such proposal has come between the two sides and both parties will continue to work together as partners. NCP (SP) and Congress are constituents of the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra and the ‘India’ alliance at the national level.
Supriya Sule said, ‘NCP (SP) and Congress have cordial relations and both the parties regularly coordinate on political issues. Whenever I come to Delhi, I make an appointment to meet Priyanka Gandhi and we discuss political, social and economic developments in Maharashtra.
Supriya Sule has claimed that she also meets Rahul Gandhi on Maharashtra issues, they are together in many parliamentary committees but there is no merger. He has said that there are good relations between the two parties, the speculations about merger are wrong.
The undivided NCP was formed by separating from the Congress. Sharad Pawar separated from the Congress in 1999 and founded the Nationalist Congress Party. In July 2023, the party was divided into two factions. NCP had entered the government in alliance with Shiv Sena and BJP. Sharad Pawar lost his control over the party.
The faction led by Ajit Pawar got the party name and election symbol, while the faction led by Sharad Pawar became known as NCP (SP).
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had appealed to the heads of regional parties that broke away from the Congress to return to the parent party.
