Devendra Fadnavis Hosts Rival NCP Factions Amid Merger Speculation

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hosted senior leaders from two rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) at his official residence, Varsha, on Tuesday night. The gathering included Jayant Patil from the Sharad Pawar faction, as well as Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare from the Ajit Pawar faction.

Local media reports suggested the meetings were preliminary discussions regarding a merger of the two splintered groups or the Sharad Pawar faction joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, Jayant Patil denied these claims, stating he met the Chief Minister briefly to discuss the disqualification of the mayor of Islampur Municipality and issues in the Uran-Ishwarpur constituency. Patil maintained he was unaware that Tatkare and Patel were present at the residence.

These developments coincide with assertions from Congress leader P. Chidambaram that the BJP is wooing the NCP (SP) and the DMK to secure votes for the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill. Scheduled for the Monsoon session starting July 20, the bill proposes increasing Lok Sabha seats to 850 and initiating delimitation, which Chidambaram warned would cause grave injustice to states following the National Population Policy.