The editorial referred to rumours that reunification was nearing completion, with Sharad Pawar tipped to become national president of the combined party and Sunetra Pawar its working president.
It also cited speculation that NCP (SP) leaders Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad could enter the Maharashtra government, while Baramati MP Supriya Sule could receive a Union cabinet berth. These purported arrangements were presented as rumours, rather than confirmed developments.
The editorial stressed that Sharad Pawar and his party remained constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra and the INDIA bloc nationally. Suggestions of a move towards the NDA, it argued, undermined his political standing.
Raut separately claimed that the Sharad Pawar-led faction, including Patil, Shashikant Shinde and Sule, would not join hands with Sunetra Pawar’s party.
The editorial also criticised the Sunetra-backed faction, questioning its ideological foundations. It argued that any individual ambitions for ministerial office should not come at the expense of the principles associated with Sharad Pawar.
Discussions with a faction aligned with the BJP, it added, created uncertainty about political loyalties and were inconsistent with Maharashtra’s political traditions.
With PTI inputs
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