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NCP(SCP) working president Supriya Sule on Saturday denied speculation about joining the NDA or a merger with the NCP, stating that there is no proposal from another party to join hands with them.
Addressing the reporters in Mumbai, Supriya Sule stated that no senior leader in the party has been approached regarding this matter. "Pawar sahib, I, Jayant Patil, Anil Deshmukh and Rajesh Tope or any senior leader have not received any proposal from any party... Nor BJP, Congress or any NDA ally given us a proposal," she said. Addressing questions about whether party MPs and MLAs are under pressure to join the ruling coalition, Sule asserted that there is no pressure on any of their leaders. The NCP(SCP) MP said, "All eight of our MPs remain in constant contact with each other and hold regular discussions with Sharad Pawar Saheb. Not a single MP or MLA has ever expressed a desire to take a different path. We are happy where we are." The rumours of the Sharad Pawar-led faction joining hands with the NDA gained traction after late-night meetings in Mumbai between NCP(SCP) leader Jayant Patil, ruling NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, and CM Devendra Fadnavis. The Sharad Pawar-led party has said that the meetings were for administrative matters, not political realignment. NCP(SCP) chief Sharad Pawar chose to stay quiet amid reports of a possible split within his party's ranks, firmly deflecting the speculation by stating, "That's not the subject to talk about right now." The NCP(SCP) patriarch's guarded response marks a notable shift in tone from June, when he asserted that while rival factions like the Shiv Sena (UBT) had fractured, his own camp remained entirely intact, declaring, "Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs have split, but none of our MPs will split." Separately, amid rumours that the NDA is looking to bring Pawar's faction on board to get the numbers needed for the Delimitation Bill in the Lok Sabha, Supriya Sule has rejected any alliance, merger, or backdoor negotiations with the NDA. Earlier today, Maharashtra Congress MLA Nana Patole said that NCP(SCP) Legislative Party leader Jayant Patil has denied quitting the INDIA bloc amid speculations about a merger between the two Nationalist Congress Party factions. Nana Patole called the merger of NCP factions an internal matter of the parties, stating that Congress does not need to worry. Patole told ANI, "I spoke to Jayant Patil myself yesterday. He said they wouldn't leave; they would remain with the INDIA bloc. That is what he told me. These are merely speculations. Since that is what he said, I feel there is no reason to discuss it further. Since this is just speculation, there is no reason for us to get into it. Whether it concerns the Ajit Pawar faction or the Sharad Pawar faction, these are internal party matters. I don't think the Congress needs to agonise over them." (ANI)
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