MUMBAI, Feb. 3 -- In the evolving narrative of a merger between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and NCP (SP), senior leaders of the Ajit Pawar-led faction said on Monday that any decision on the matter will be taken when the party's ruling ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is brought on board. The leaders expressed their claim a day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis rubbished the talks of merger. Fadnavis had said on Sunday: "NCP takes its own decisions. However, had any such discussion taken place, Ajit dada would have informed me. The party is in power with us as part of Mahayuti." In an informal interaction with a group of journalists at his residence Silver Oak on Monday, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, responded to Fadnavis's statement saying, "How would those who were not at the meetings (on the merger) know what had transpired." Reacting to Pawar's statement, top NCP leaders insisted that BJP will be a part of any decision on the merger, adding that if NCP (SP) was willing to take the talks ahead, they would have to accept Sunetra Pawar's leadership. Sunetra is the late Ajit Pawar's wife, who was sworn in as deputy chief minister in his place on Saturday. "There may have been discussions (between Ajit and Sharad Pawar), but no one in the party, including me, is aware of what transpired between them. The chief minister has to be consulted if the party wants NCP (SP) as a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). I do not think that Ajit dada ever thought about leaving the NDA coalition," said veteran NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, underscoring that should a tie-up go through, NCP (SP) leaders must acknowledge Sunetra's leadership. "Sunetra vahini is a new deputy chief minister. Discussions can only happen under her leadership," said Bhujbal. While Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare also insisted that any future discussion "will have to include our ally BJP," senior party leader and education minister Hasan Mushrif said ahead of the local body polls, while Ajit Pawar had spoken to him about contesting elections with NCP (SP), "there were no talks of a merger". "Jayant Patil spoke to me about discussions on the merger, but I did not hear it from my own leader. We will have to take the BJP's opinion on the matter," he said. According to NCP insiders, the party's present stance on the merger was a consequence of NCP (SP) speaking about a reunion within hours of Ajit Pawar's plane crash on January 28. "They were the first to start politics on the issue. The message was clear, which led to our stand that NCP's leadership remain with Ajit dada's family," said a senior NCP functionary. Meanwhile, NCP (SP) has threatened to reveal all the details of meetings on the merger between the two factions. Senior NCP (SP) leader and former home minister Anil Deshmukh said, "We are in mourning right now. Once this period is over, I will furnish all the details about the meetings - where they were held, how long each meeting lasted and what was decided." Party leader Jitendra Awhad corroborated: "The merger talks were initiated by Ajit dada himself. In my last conversation with him, he assured me saying, 'trust me, I will fix everything'."...