India, Feb. 12 -- A day after assuming charge as deputy chief minister, Sunetra Pawar on Wednesday met prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah in two separate meetings in New Delhi, along with top Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders including national working president Praful Patel and Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare.

The leaders discussed difficulties in merging the two NCP factions headed by Sharad Pawar and Sunetra Pawar, tipped to be the next NCP president after the death of her husband Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28, party insiders said.

Though Ajit Pawar himself was part of the merger talks prior to his death, several NCP leaders have strong reservations against the move. The Sharad Pawar...