No merger, no NDA, asserts Supriya Sule

Mumbai: Amid ongoing intense speculation in Maharashtra’s political circles regarding the potential merger of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions—Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) and Ajit Pawar’s NCP—the NCP (SP) Working President and MP Supriya Sule on Saturday categorically rejected any talk of a merger or joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Sule told reporters, “There is no discussion about joining the NDA. When there is no discussion, questions of commas or full stops do not arise. If the essay itself hasn’t been written, why talk about it?” With these words, she put a firm full stop to all merger speculations. Expressing her fatigue over the persistent rumours, Sule emphasised that the possibility of a merger died alongside her brother, Ajit Pawar. “I am now fed up with these merger discussions,” Sule said. “The discussions about a merger, and even fixing a date, existed only as long as my brother was here.”

“The day my brother passed away, a full stop was put on the merger in my mind and in my party—a discussion that had taken place with party office-bearers and my Dada (Ajit Pawar), videos of which you all have broadcast,” she noted. She added, “As long as my brother was there, the merger was discussed. The day my brother left, the merger came to a permanent end. We haven’t made a single statement since then. We didn’t even counter the statements coming from the Ajit Pawar faction. Whatever future path was charted, it was charted with Ajit Dada.

Some things come straight from the heart. Ask all your questions about the merger today and let’s settle it once and for all. I will not speak on the merger hereafter; I am exhausted by these discussions.” “In a vibrant democracy, everyone has the right to express their opinion.