PUNE: Members of Sharad Pawar on Thursday backed deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar as state president of the NCP after he took charge of the family after the death of nephew Ajit Pawar. While some other senior NCP functionaries have shown reluctance to merge with the NCP (SP), the Pawar family said Sunetra will speak on the matter on behalf of her party.While interacting with reporters in Baramati, NCP (SP) state general secretary and Ajit Pawar’s nephew Rohit Pawar said: “As the Pawar family, we also hope that Sunetra Kaki (aunt) will become the next NCP president after becoming the deputy prime minister.” Regarding the merger issue, he said that the family has not discussed it yet. “We will discuss the issue after the mourning period is over as it is important to know the views of members. Since Sunetra Kaki (aunty) has been made deputy chief minister and all NCP MLAs are supporting her, she will speak on the merger issue after February 9. We can discuss this later. “Reunification became more likely on Thursday after Pawar Sr. took the lead in minimizing tensions within the family after meeting Sunetra and her sons at their Baramati residence for the second day in a row. Some senior NCP members, including Patel and state president Sunil Tatkare, refuted Sharad Pawar’s claims that his nephew had initiated steps for NCP merger.
