MUMBAI: Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal triggered a minor tremor on Sunday after he said Praful Patel had been appointed NCP’s national president. Patel quickly clarified on X that the reports on his appointment were “totally baseless”, and Goyal later said he had been “misled” .In an interview to PTI, Goyal said the NCP, as part of Mahayuti, had performed very well and claimed that the leadership of the NCP was clearly with Ajit Pawar and now with Sunetra Pawar, and that Praful Patel had been appointed as national president.NCP firmly with NDA, asserts TatkareState NCP chief Sunil Tatkare Sunday said NCP’s decision to be with NDA was firm and intact, and those who are in tune with it and with being in NDA led by BJP could take their own decision, referring indirectly to NCP-SP led by Sharad Pawar.Tatkare’s statement, which came after he was asked a question about a possible merger, indicated that the door for a merger of the two NCPs may not be completely shut yet, but the rival faction would have to accept Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s line.He, however, said those who started merger talks “even before Ajit’s final rites were performed” should answer why it was done. After Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in, there was speculation that merger talks would be put in cold storage. NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar said there will be no political talks in Pawar family for 13 days, and after that, they would take a stand.
