• Praful Patel said his family ties with Sharad Pawar remain cordial.
• Patel met Pawar at Breach Candy Hospital on Thursday night.
• The two leaders discussed Pawar’s health and the political situation.
• Both NCP factions have ruled out a merger.

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 6th Nov: Senior NCP leader Praful Patel has said his personal and family relations with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar remain cordial despite their political differences, insisting that there has never been any bitterness between them.

Patel met the 85-year-old veteran politician at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on Thursday night to enquire about his health. Describing Pawar’s condition as excellent, Patel said the two also discussed the prevailing political situation.

“There were political differences, but there was never any bitterness. I have always continued meeting Pawar saheb from time to time. We have family relations, which will continue,” Patel said.

He added that Pawar was in good spirits and smiling in his characteristic style.

Pawar’s hospitalisation
Sharad Pawar was admitted to the south Mumbai hospital on Wednesday after being discharged from Pune’s Ruby Hall Clinic, where he had been receiving treatment since Monday.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of the 2023 split in the NCP, when a group of leaders, including Patel, joined the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra under the leadership of the late Ajit Pawar.

Following the split, the Ajit Pawar-led faction received the NCP name and party symbol, while Sharad Pawar’s group came to be known as the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), or NCP (SP).

Political developments within NCP
Patel’s hospital visit also comes amid reports of internal discussions within the NCP. Senior party leaders recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi without party chief Sunetra Pawar and her sons, Parth and Jay.

The meeting reportedly took place amid speculation over concerns within the NCP leadership about Parth Pawar’s growing influence in the party.

Both the NCP and NCP (SP) have ruled out a merger between the two factions. Sharad Pawar recently said his party would not merge with another party, while adding that those wishing to join it were welcome.