According to reports, the NCP group led by Sharad Pawar may combine with the old parent party Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The talks on a merger are ongoing, but it is unclear if it will take place before or after the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
According to certain sources, the Congress High Command has urged that Sharad Pawar join his faction (Sharad Pawar Faction) with the Congress and run for office under the same emblem.
This news comes only days after the Election Commission designated the Ajit Pawar-led NCP factions as the’real NCP,’ awarding them both the party’s name and symbol. On February 6, the poll panel, applying the majority test in the legislative wing, concluded that Ajit Pawar’s side was the true NCP and allowed the faction to use the party’s ‘clock’ symbol.
This left the party’s founder, Sharad Pawar, with a simple choice: register his fraction as the ‘Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).’ As a result, it is anticipated that Pawar senior may decide to return to his parent party and combine with them in order to obtain more authority over the ruling parties.
According to local sources, a critical meeting was held at Pawar’s Modi Bagh mansion in Pune with top party leaders to deliberate future strategy. However, there have been no verifiable reports on the political strongman’s approach regarding his desire to return to where he started.
Sharad Pawar began his political career with the Congress party. He was elected for the first time in 1967 from the Baramati Assembly constituency. Following this, he was a member of the Congress Party until 1999. Following this, he resigned the Congress leadership and founded the Nationalist Congress Party.