India, Feb. 14 -- NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and other party leaders were to transfer the leadership of an undivided NCP to former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar after the two factions reunited. This was stated by NCP (SP) state president Shashikant Shinde in the February issue of 'Rashtravadi', published on Thursday.

In an article authored by him, Shinde also claimed that Ajit Pawar had felt compelled to split the NCP due to threats from an "invisible force", a term used by political parties in the state to describe the BJP leadership, whose party is the senior partner in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state.

"The activities of the 'invisible force', threats and conspiracies forced Ajitdada to create a separate group, which all...