A meeting between NCP (SP) leader and former state president Jayant Patil and BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde in Mumbai has triggered fresh political speculation over the possibility of Sharad Pawar's party considering an entry into the NDA.
The interaction between the two leaders sparked discussion in political circles, although Patil dismissed suggestions that the meeting had any political significance.
Speaking to TOI, Patil said, “Members of a joint parliamentary committee were in a Mumbai hotel where I visited them. I happened to meet Tawde where we spoke briefly over coffee, but no political discussions happened between us.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also denied reports of any political outreach towards the NCP (SP).
Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Tuesday, he said, “We are not trying to engineer any split in Sharad Pawar’s party. No attempts are being made to bring MLAs and MPs of NCP (SP) to our side. No new party from Maharashtra will join the NDA.”
The Patil-Tawde meeting came against the backdrop of speculation that some NCP (SP) MPs had been approached to join NDA constituents after six MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) crossed over to the Shiv Sena.
Adding to the political buzz, NCP (SP) MP Amol Kolhe recently remarked that he would consider a ‘proposal’ if one came from the Mahayuti alliance. Although Kolhe later clarified that his comments had been misconstrued, they fuelled further speculation over the party's future political course.
Reacting to both Kolhe's statement and the Patil-Tawde meeting, former NCP MLC Amol Mitkari suggested that joining the NDA could help the party avoid internal divisions.
“If NCP (SP) wants to avoid Sena (UBT) kind of split, joining NDA would be the best option,” Mitkari said.
However, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule dismissed the speculation surrounding the party's possible alignment with the NDA.
“I am not aware of the meeting (between Patil and Tawde),” she said.
