Overview
- Senior BJP figures have told interlocutors that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP would be considered for closer ties only if the two rival NCP factions formally reunite, a position that has driven a flurry of private meetings this week.
- Multiple closed‑door talks involving Jayant Patil, Jitendra Awhad, Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Parth Pawar, CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde have fuelled realignment speculation but no merger or alliance has been announced.
- Supriya Sule signalled conditional openness to the Centre’s delimitation plan by saying she would consider support if the proposal raised Lok Sabha seats uniformly by about 50%, though she and the NCP-SP have made no formal commitment.
- Reports say the BJP has discussed a power‑sharing formula that could include one Union cabinet berth for each faction and state portfolios as incentives, but those offers and any acceptances remain unconfirmed.
- The push for a unified NCP is driven by parliamentary arithmetic for a Constitution amendment to allow delimitation linked to women’s reservation and to increase Lok Sabha seats to roughly 850, a move the government plans to pursue in the coming Monsoon session.