Mumbai, June 14 -- Former MLA and BJP leader Ashish Deshmukh today said that both NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray are in favour of merging their respective parties with the Congress.
BJP leader Deshmukh's statement came exactly a day after senior Congress leader Nana Patole stated on Friday that Sharad Pawar himself had proposed to merge his NCP with the Congress.
Significantly, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut told mediapersons at least twice in the last couple of days that a senior leader like Sharad Pawar must take the lead to merge with the Congress.
Raut told media persons in Mumbai on Friday that Congress needs to become stronger and leaders who had ...