Mumbai, Nov 14 — The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Saturday termed the buzz in Maharashtra's political playground over a 'merger' of the two NCP factions a BJP ploy to destabilise the state through back-channel manoeuvres.
"The merger experiment is not a simple game; it is a complex political chess match. Many are playing this game out of compulsion, while others are playing out of ambition. Playing with crossed paths, yet hiding a knife behind their backs, and finding an unexpected thrill in such manoeuvres provides intense entertainment to the Marathi mindset. On one hand, Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, Rohit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde, and on the other hand, Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal are interacting as players, giving birth to the new buzzword 'Merger'," it said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Samaana.
It also accused the BJP of creating a narrative of "merger" to destabilise Maharashtra through back-channel manoeuvres, noting the move was not in the interest of the state. Leaders like Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, and Shashikant Shinde should not get carried away in this game, it said, stressing: "After all, playing the game of merger is a sign of political suicide."
"Through this game, a theatre of confusion is being played out. Both sides show they are walking together, yet look at each other with suspicion. Someone is sweating, someone is breathing a sigh of relief, but since the game has no clear result, the audience doesn't know when the third bell (the climax) will ring..." the editorial said.
It mocked the recurring political chatter surrounding a reunion between the two factions of the NCP, characterising it as a distracting political game that creates confusion and suspicion across the state.
The editorial pointed out a growing unease among senior leaders like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare in the rival NCP faction following leadership shifts involving Parth Pawar, suggesting that the renewed talk of a merger stems from their political discomfort. The editorial suggested that Sharad Pawar and senior leaders of his faction, including Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, and Shashikant Shinde, should not to fall for this political manoeuvring, cautioning Pawar against compromising his lifelong ideological stance merely to satisfy a handful of party members eager for ministerial berths.
According to the editorial, a section of media and political brokers have taken it upon themselves to engineer a merger, but warned those from the NCP-SP that "entering the merger game will only play into the BJP's hands and ruin their own political footing".