MUMBAI, Feb. 17 -- As calls mount for a merger of the two NCP factions, the party leadership has issued a gag order on its legislators, making it clear that reunification is off the table, for now. The directive was issued at a meeting of MLAs at 'Devgiri', the official residence of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar on Monday. Also on Monday, the party formally decided to elect Pawar as the next NCP president, following the death of her husband and party chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. The decision, taken at a core committee meeting of the party, was supported by all the MLAs through a show of hands. NCP working president Praful Patel said at the party MLAs' meeting later that the election will take place in Mumbai on February 26, and that Pawar is expected to be elected unopposed. On muzzling its legislators, who were publicly vocal about the proposed merger of the NCP with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), party insiders said the leadership wanted to know why a section of MLAs had become vocal about a merger. The leadership plans to determine whether these demands are being driven by external influences or reflect a genuine belief among legislators that a merger would bolster their standing in their respective constituencies. "The leadership sees no immediate need to pursue a merger. The issue may be revisited closer to 2028, a year before the assembly elections. Several NCP MLAs such as Narhari Zirwal, Anil Patil and recently Hiraman Khoskar have publicly supported talks for a merger between the two NCP factions....