Mumbai: Dismissing the buzz of a merger between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) [NCP (SP)], Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said senior leader Sharad Pawar will not let his years of penance go in vain by aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Talking to reporters, Raut said one must wait for Sharad Pawar to make his stand clear on the issue.
"Sharad Pawar will not let his years of penance go to vain (by aligning with the BJP)," Raut said.
There is no proposal of merger on the table, Raut asserted.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) are part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, while the NCP is aligned with the BJP-led NDA at the union level and Mahayuti in Maharashtra.
Raut claimed the Nationalist Congress Party has become leaderless after the death of then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash in January this year. The NCP is currently led by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.
He also alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah decides the course of action for the NCP as well as the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Asserting that he has seen Sharad Pawar from close quarters, Raut said the veteran leader must be having fun over the merger buzz.
The merger buzz gained strength last week after several leaders of the Sunetra Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, including Praful Patel and Parth Pawar, met Sharad Pawar, who was recently hospitalised for a chest infection.
While Parth Pawar met the Opposition stalwart at his 'Silver Oak' residence in south Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday, the meeting between Patel and the NCP (SP) chief took place last week at Breach Candy hospital.
A viral video showed Sharad Pawar and Patel discussing a possible meeting after November 10.