India, July 13 -- Will veteran politician Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) finally join the BJP-led NDA, as is being speculated? Will the 85-year-old leader announce his retirement and let others in his party join the NDA? Will he merge his party with the Congress? Or just maintain status quo? While the first half of the monsoon session of the state legislature was about the split in the Shiv Sena (UBT), the political discourse in the second half of the session was dominated by these questions. There have been speculations that Pawar is negotiating a deal with the BJP to join the NDA. According to party insiders, Pawar has tasked senior leader Jayant Patil with the job of talking to those who are opposed to the proposal. At the same time, leaders in the state Congress say that there are some talks going on between top leadership of their party with Pawar. In the NDA, the Sunetra Pawar-led NCP has expressed its reservations over admitting the Pawar faction in the coalition. A top leader of the party has conveyed the same to the BJP leadership both in the state and in New Delhi. On the other hand, in the Congress too, the Maharashtra leadership has pointed out that Pawar faction's inclusion in the party could create more problems for the party, starting with his stand on a certain industrialist whom the Congress has been criticising. A section within Pawar's party thinks their boss is actually buying time as the party top brass feels it is necessary to watch which way the wind blows in the aftermath of the Iran war, NEET paper leak controversy and the Ram temple donation theft. The only thing that could force Pawar's decision would be a push by the BJP if it wants to clear the delimitation bill in the parliament, it feels. The BJP and Shiv Sena outsmarted Vasai-Virar strongman Hitendra Thakur to win control of the Thane District Central Cooperative Bank, which has political significance in Thane and Palghar districts. The Thakur camp was in control of the bank. For the election of 21 directors on the board of the bank last week, Thakur teamed up with Eknath Shinde and BJP legislator Kisan Kathore. Their Sahakar panel was in a direct fight with former BJP MP Kapil Patil-led Parivartan panel. The Sahakar panel won 16 seats while Patil's panel could manage only 4, one went to an independent. However, following a meeting between state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan and Shinde, the two ruling parties decided to wrest control of the bank from the hands of the Thakur camp. The winning candidates in both the panels, with affiliation to BJP (8) and Shiv Sena (6), came together and got the alliance nominee Arun Patil elected as chairman of the bank, defeating Thakur's plan to retain control. This is not the first time Thakur was left fuming. In 2022, when Shinde split the Sena, 3 MLAs of Thakur's Bahujan Vikas Aghadi had supported the saffron alliance but two years later, the alliance dumped the BVA. The Thane bank election was seen as reconciliation between Thakur and Shinde camp but it seems, things are now back to square one. While Opposition legislators were slamming the ruling parties over the landslide on the Connecting Link during the recent heavy rains, Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar adopted a conciliatory tone and even thanked CM Fadnavis and his deputies for reopening it swiftly. On Friday, as Shinde spoke about the issue, he thanked Narvekar for taking a "rational" stand on the issue. "He showed the courage to speak the truth. I congratulate him," Shinde said, aiming to tease Sena (UBT) leadership. The friendship between Shinde and Narvekar-personal secretary of Thackeray--was well known when the former was in the undivided Shiv Sena. The cordial relations between the duo have remained even though Thackeray and Shinde no longer see eye to eye. While the two parties run by the Pawar family members are busy in some serious political moves, for the younger generation in the Pawar clan, it's the season for another kind of ties. In less than a year, three Pawars have already got married or engaged. Now, NCP MP Parth Pawar is set to get engaged to Kaiynaat Dhar on July 29. His cousin Rohit Pawar made the engagement public by posting the invitation card of the event on his social media account. Commenting on the same, Supriya Sule told mediapersons: "Currently, we have our wedding season. First Yogendra, then Jay, followed by Revati (her daughter) and now Parth. Children in the Pawar family have decided to get married this year." She also added that one more good news is expected soon but chose to keep it under wraps....