MUMBAI: Amid an Election Commission of India (ECI) reminder notice questioning the appointment of Sunetra Pawar as NCP national president, NCP Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary Parth Pawar on Saturday met NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai.
The closed-door meeting between Sharad Pawar and Parth Pawar was held at Sharad Pawar's Silver Oak residence and lasted nearly three hours.
The unexpected interaction has triggered speculation about a possible rapprochement between the two NCP factions and whether the Pawar camps could join hands again.
The meeting is also significant in the context of the ECI's reminder notice to Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, asking her to validate her appointment as NCP national president by submitting the resolutions and amendments through which changes were made to the party's constitution.
However, neither leader shared any official details about the meeting.
Sources said the NCP is facing a difficult situation following the ECI's reminder notice.
"If Sunetra Pawar fails to respond to the ECI reminder notice, she may lose the party president's post. Besides, it could jeopardise her and her son's positions in the party. This would be a major setback, and therefore Parth Pawar is seeking the advice of senior Pawar to address the issue. Besides, if this issue is not resolved, a possible merger of the two NCPs is also being discussed," a source said, requesting anonymity.
NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, however, played down the significance of the meeting.
"There are many leaders in India who meet Sharad Pawar as he is one of India's most senior and respected politicians. Earlier, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare also met him. So, Parth Pawar also met him like other leaders. We should not read too much into such meetings. Political leaders from different parties do meet and discuss various issues," Sule said.
She added that details of the meeting would be known only to Sharad Pawar and Parth Pawar.
Sule also said she had been hearing speculation about a merger of the two NCP factions for a long time.
"We have been hearing about the merger for a long time in the media, and such reports keep coming up from time to time. We are already working for the people and raising their issues. Let the people and media discuss it; we are busy with our work," she said.