Top News

Mumbai, May 12 (PTI): NCP leader Sunil Tatkare on Tuesday called on NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar at his residence in south Mumbai, with the former calling the visit non-political.

This was Tatkare's first meeting with the veteran leader after the death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28 this year.

Talking to reporters later, Tatkare said he came to meet Pawar as he has been unwell for the last few months.

"My visit was just to inquire about his well-being and nothing political was discussed," he said, adding the senior leader wasn't keeping well and he sought time to inquire about his health.

Tatkare came to Pawar's residence 'Silver Oak' after arriving in Mumbai from Guwahati, where he had gone to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Himanta Biswa Sarma as Assam Chief Minister.

The visit comes in the wake of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Sunetra Pawar inducting her sons Parth Pawar and Jay Pawar into the party's national working committee, while the working committee includes Tatkare as party leader in the Lok Sabha and senior leader Praful Patel as NCP leader in the Rajya Sabha.

The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, split after Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government in July 2023. He was appointed the deputy CM at that time, and his stint in the post continued after Devendra Fadnavis came to the helm as CM following the November 2024 assembly polls.

After Ajit Pawar's death, Sharad Pawar had said the process to merge the NCP (SP) and NCP faced a roadblock and claimed that action for the merger was underway four months prior to his nephew's death. PTI MR NP

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)