Rahul Gandhi-Sharad Pawar meet sparks merger buzz

Prafulla Marpakwar | TNN | Updated: May 31, 2019, 2:37 IST

Highlights

A Congress leader said that while merger is not possible, if it takes place, both Congress and NCP will be at an advantage.
Congress’s strength in the LS will increase from 51 to 56 seats, following which it would be eligible for the post of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.

MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday set to rest speculation about the party’s possible merger with Congress, saying there was no substance in such talk.
After his marathon meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, there were reports that NCP may merge with Congress. “Rahul had come to my residence, and there was discussion on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections and the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra. At no stage was there any discussion on NCP’s merger with Congress. These are all rumours,” Pawar said.
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik too said there was no substance in the reports. “Prima facie, it appears that an attempt is being made to confuse NCP and Congress activists. I am sure NCP activists will not succumb to such rumours,” Malik told TOI.

A Congress leader said that while merger is not possible, if it takes place, both Congress and NCP will be at an advantage. Congress’s strength in the LS will increase from 51 to 56 seats, following which it would be eligible for the post of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. Further, Congress can offer the post of leader of opposition to Sharad Pawar in Rajya Sabha, but in that event, NCP will lose its independent existence.
Pawar had left the Congress in 1983 and formed Congress-Socialist, but he merged Congress-S in Congress at a rally in Aurangabad in 1986 in presence of then PM Rajiv Gandhi. In 1999, Pawar again quit Congress and formed Nationalist Congress Party.