Congress will negotiate only with Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar: Prithviraj Chavan on Maharashtra merger buzz

The Congress will discuss alliance matters only with Shiv Sena UBTs Uddhav Thackeray and NCP SPs Sharad Pawar and leave the decision on a suballiance to them former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has said amid speculation that the Thackeray cousins and the NCP factions may join hands reported news agency PTIChavan however made it clear that if the NCP merger happens and if that party goes with the NDA it would become difficult for the Congress to continue the alliance with them in MaharashtraIn an interview with PTI he dubbed the talk of coming together of the Shiv Sena UBT and the Raj Thackerayled Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS as a family matterIf we go in an alliance in the local body polls we will have a seat sharing with the leaders of the alliance partners that is Mr Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena UBT and Mr Sharad Pawar of the NCP SP Now with whom they do a suballiance is entirely their situation Chavan a senior Congress leader said reported PTIIf the person is completely against the values that the Congress stands for then we will raise some objections otherwise it is an internal family matter and how they do seat adjustments in case we go with an alliance in the local body polls he said reported PTIAsked specifically about Raj Thackeray Chavan told PTI Our experience is that he is a senior leader in Maharashtra politics He is a big crowd puller whenever he has a public meeting there are huge crowds But that doesnt get translated into votes and that is why he has no presence in the current Maharashtra assemblyThere is a view that former Shiv Sena votes will combine together and they may get some benefit he said on the positives of the Thackeray cousins coming togetherWe will only negotiate with Mr Uddhav Thackeray and Mr Sharad Pawar Chavan asserted reported PTIFor the first time in 20 years estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will share the stage on July 5 at a joint victory rally organised by the Shiv Sena UBT and MNS to celebrate the rollback of the contentious government resolutions GRs on the threelanguage policyThe Shiv Sena UBT and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Uddhav and Raj respectively on Tuesday issued a joint public invitation for the Marathi Vijay Diwas event to be held at the NSCI Dome in WorliThe joint invitation titled Marathicha Awaaz is the first official announcement of the event It doesnt carry a party symbol or flag except a graphic image of Maharashtra It mentions the names of Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray as hostsRaj Thackeray nephew of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray resigned from the party in January 2006 apparently due to differences with UddhavDuring an interview a few months ago Raj Thackeray said uniting in the interests of Marathi manoos was not difficult while Uddhav also indicated his willingness to join hands with his cousinOn the buzz that there could be a merger between the NCP factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar Chavan said Exactly the same answer it is a family matter It is for them to decide who merges into which group and who becomes the leader of the merged party reported PTIIt is not very easy because the grassroots elected legislators and parliamentarians have a view that for development work to be done there should be an alliance with the ruling party so that we get some benefit for the nursing of our constituencies while other people are saying we cannot align with A B or C when we fought so hard Chavan said reported PTIHe however added that he does not know what will happen with NCPs case whether they will come together or not who will merge into which party who will be the leader in case of a merger or will individual units directly join the NDASo all options are open and it is for them to take a call I dont think we will be asked for advice but we are watching the situation If they become part of the NDA then it will become difficult to continue the alliance in Maharashtra he said on the speculation over the NCP merger reported PTIThe Nationalist Congress Party founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999 split in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar along with several other leaders joined the BJPled government in Maharashtra Ajit was sworn in as Deputy Chief MinisterThe party name and its clock symbol were given to the Ajit Pawar faction while the one headed by the former Union agriculture minister was christened NCP Sharadchandra PawarIn a veiled reference to his estranged nephew Ajit Pawar amid a buzz about the reunion of the NCP factions NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar had last month said that those who indulged in opportunistic politics by joining hands with the BJP can not be encouragedWith inputs from PTI