What will happen now to the unification plans of NCP?

Sources inside the NCP are saying that talks between the two factions  over unification may resume with the mediation of an industrialist

The unfortunate and tragic death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has saddened the entire state and sent a shock wave in the political sphere all over. This incident will have long-term effects on politics in Maharashtra, but even in the short term, it has caused major upheaval within Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is part of the ruling BJP-led NDA alliance at the centre as well as the state level. A lot of talk is about whether the two factions of the NCP, one led by founder Sharad Pawar and the other which used to be led by Ajit Pawar, will now unite in common interest. There was a major buzz in the political circles about the meetings that happened between the two sides to decide how they would fight the local self-government polls together as one force.

However, things became confusing for the party workers and activists in both factions of the NCP, with the leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction denying there were any talks of a merger between the two groups, while the Sharad Pawar group kept saying in the media that many meetings have happened since the month of December 2025 to decide how both political outfits could reunite and become a joint force. This gives clear indications that after the sudden death of Ajit Pawar, certain leaders of his party do not want the factions to unite.

There is no denying the fact that on December 11, 2025, NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, and Sunil Tatkare met NCP founder Sharad Pawar on the eve of his birthday in New Delhi, and buzz in the party is that they discussed how the two NCP factions could come together as a joint force. This is very evident and obvious because both the factions actually got into a seat-sharing deal for the municipal polls which happened on January 15, 2025, and they fought jointly in Pune as well as the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations. This itself proves that they did have meetings previously to join forces to fight the forthcoming polls. However, with Ajit Pawar’s demise, everything has changed.

Previously, when there were meetings between the leadership of both factions of the NCP, there was a general agreement that the new unified NCP would be led totally by Ajit Pawar, and party patriarch Sharad Pawar would slowly retire from active politics. Insiders reveal how the talks happened about how Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, and Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule, would work together in New Delhi at the parliamentary level and how Ajit Pawar, along with leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil, would work in Maharashtra together.

Now with Ajit Pawar out of the picture, everything has changed. If there is a unification of the two groups of the NCP, the single political entity would clearly be led only by the octogenarian himself. There is no other leader who can replace Ajit Pawar as the top leader of the unified NCP. This prospect has disturbed many inside that NCP, and they are highly uncomfortable with the idea of the veteran leader taking over the NCP once again and leading them at the central as well as state levels. That’s the reason many of them are now denying that there was any discussion about going forward for a unification or merger of the two NCP factions and want to avoid any such unification as far as possible.

The reason behind the sudden rush inside the NCP to nominate Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, as his political heir and quickly get her sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra is exactly the same as mentioned above. There was a feeling of insecurity among the leadership of the NCP that should two factions unite, it will give an opportunity to Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule to take over the leadership of the united NCP. To counter that, the leadership appointed Sunetra Pawar as the political heir to Ajit Pawar. The BJP has been quick to take advantage of the situation and has taken over the all-important finance ministry in the transition that happened after Ajit Pawar’s demise.

Now there is a new twist in the tale. The entry of a top industrialist as a mediator has changed many things. Sources inside the NCP now say that talks between the two factions of the NCP over the unification process may resume with the mediation of this industrialist, and insiders say the BJP’s central leadership is eager to have even Sharad Pawar’s NCP join the NDA alliance in the centre, as he has some Lok Sabha MPs who can add support base for the BJP in central politics. Whether the unification of the NCP happens or not is an unanswered question as of now, but one can say that it will remain a burning topic in the talks and discussions in coming weeks.