Jayant Patil Denies NCP Merger Rumors Following Mumbai Meetings

MUMBAI — NCP (SP) MLA Jayant Patil on Saturday dismissed rising speculations about a potential merger with the NCP, clarifying that no such discussions are currently taking place. The denial comes after a week of high-profile meetings in Mumbai and ahead of the upcoming Parliament session scheduled to begin on Monday.

The rumors of a merger intensified after Patil held meetings with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde over the past week. Despite these meetings, Patil maintained that there are no ongoing talks regarding a merger between the political factions, stating once again on Saturday that the claims were unfounded.

According to a senior NCP leader, the party leadership is not in favor of the merger, which has served as a major obstacle to any potential talks. The leader emphasized that the party's MLAs and MPs remain firmly behind NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar. The senior leader also claimed that if the NDA government secures the support of the NCP (SP) for its upcoming delimitation bill, they will likely push for a merger.

Addressing the delimitation bill, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule stated that her party might support the legislation, but only under specific conditions. Sule explained that the party's support is contingent on an equal 50 percent increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats across all states.

Sule also shared a personal health update on the social media platform X, explaining that she will be temporarily sidelined from public speaking. She recently consulted with Dr. Milind Kirtane regarding issues with her throat and voice.

According to Sule, Dr. Kirtane diagnosed a slight swelling in her throat and advised her to take complete bed rest. Sule will undergo voice therapy and has been instructed to avoid giving speeches, conducting interviews, or participating in prolonged speaking for the next one to two weeks.