Unhappy with Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth, six NCP biggies meet Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah met senior NCP leaders at his residence amid growing concerns over internal differences in the party following Ajit Pawar's death

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI/PUNE: With BJP concerned over organisational discord within NCP, home minister Amit Shah late Sunday met senior functionaries believed to be unhappy with party president Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth, and nudged them to resolve their internal rift in the interest of the party.The meeting was attended by NCP national working president Praful Patel, Maharashtra chief Sunil Tatkare, ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, and netas Dhananjay Munde and Dilip Patil. Neither deputy CM Sunetra nor Parth was present. Sunetra then called a core committee meet in Mumbai.Sources said the dissidents' concerns remained unresolved after talks with Sunetra, Parth and his younger sibling Jay.

Days ahead will prove crucial for NCP, which is a part of the BJP-led NDA.The rift has been brewing over what confidants of late Ajit Pawar see as Parth's attempt to push important decisions through his mother without consulting them. Ajit's sudden death in a plane crash had thrust Sunetra into the leadership. The immediate trigger appeared to be NCP's loss in the lone MLC seat it contested. The Sharad Pawar-led faction won two seats, suggesting some family loyalists may have returned to veteran's camp.

NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal and others attended a meeting with Amit Shah in Delhi, amid reports of discontent over Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth's leadership

At the meeting with Shah, the group aired grievances, particularly about Parth allegedly riding roughshod over the party, with his mother allowing him to have his way.NCP seniors, who sided with Ajit during the split with Sharad Pawar, did not criticise Sunetra. However, they resented her allowing Parth to repeatedly call the shots, suggesting she backed him, an unhappy party member said. "Having grown in a political family and married into Pawar clan, she has enough smarts not to sense the unease among seniors," he said.Ajit's confidants at Shah's residence underlined Sunetra and Parth's isolation.BJP believes organisational discord in NCP could help opposition, especially NCP-SP, regain ground in western Maharashtra and hurt the governing coalition. Shinde-led Shiv Sena is its third partner. Shinde, a Maratha like Pawars, could use NCP's decline to gain leverage over BJP.

Merger talks between two NCP factions were also raised at Shah's residence, sources said.

Tatkare rejected suggestions that discussions continued. "The curtains have drawn on merger issue. Even seniors of the other NCP faction have said so," he said after the core committee meeting. Hours earlier, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule had attended INDIA bloc rally in Delhi.Tatkare claimed there were no differences in the party. But functionaries held another meeting at Bhujbal's Mumbai residence, again without Sunetra or Parth. Chief spokesperson Umesh Patil said attempts were being made to give "unnecessary political colour" to Shah's meeting and create a false narrative of internal differences.