Rival NCP leaders meet Devendra Fadnavis separately, fuelling political speculation in Maharashtra

Separate latenight meetings between leaders of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party NCP and the Opposition Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have triggered fresh political speculation in the stateThe meetings come amid ongoing discussions over possible shifts in political alignments and days after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP was attempting to secure support from regional parties for the proposed Constitution 131st Amendment BillJayant Patil meets Chief MinisterAccording to reports senior NCP Sharadchandra Pawar leader Jayant Patil met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence Varsha in Mumbai late on Tuesday nightPatil discussed issues related to his UranIslampur Assembly constituency in Sangli district during the meetingPatil did not meet the Chief Minister jointly with leaders from the ruling NCPNeither Patil nor the Chief Ministers Office has officially commented on the meetingPraful Patel Sunil Tatkare also meet FadnavisReports also suggest that senior leaders of the ruling NCP Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare separately met Fadnavis at his official residenceHowever the meetings were held independently and were not part of a joint discussion involving leaders from the rival NCP factionsNo official details regarding the agenda of the meetings have been disclosedThe separate meetings have nevertheless sparked speculation in political circles about possible developments within Maharashtras evolving political landscapePolitical developments add to speculationThe meetings come amid continued discussions about the future relationship between the two NCP factions with political observers speculating about possible organisational or political realignmentsThere has been no official confirmation from either faction regarding reports of a possible merger or any change in their respective political positionsLeaders of both parties have also refrained from commenting on the speculation surrounding the latenight meetingsChidambaram raises concerns over proposed Constitutional amendmentThe political developments coincide with remarks made by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram who alleged that the BJP was attempting to garner support from regional parties including the NCP Sharadchandra Pawar and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam DMK for the proposed Constitution 131st Amendment BillIn a post on X Chidambaram claimed After splitting the TMC the BJP is reportedly wooing the NCPSP and the DMK to garner the crucial votes to support the new version of the failed BillHe urged both parties not to support the proposed legislation arguing that the planned delimitation exercise could adversely affect states that had successfully implemented population control measuresThe Constitution 131st Amendment Bill which the Centre is expected to introduce during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on July 20 proposes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and initiating a fresh delimitation exerciseWith inputs from PTI