Can Sharad Pawar salvage the split?

Amid the NCP crisis in Maharashtra, both the camps--Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar--held key meetings with party leaders in a show of strength. In the meeting, Ajit Pawar, addressing his party workers, including 32 of NCP’s 53 MLAs, took a swipe at his 83-year-old uncle Sharad Pawar and said that it was time for him to retire. Whereas NCP supremo Sharad Pawar addressing NCP leaders in Mumbai, said, “The party symbol is with us. It is not going anywhere. The people and party workers who brought us to power are with us.” Senior Pawar's statement was in response to the claim made by the Ajit faction over the NCP.

While the crisis continues to simmer in the NCP, the big question remains what lies ahead?