‘Totally baseless’: Praful Patel denies reports about his appointment as NCP president after Ajit Pawar’s death

NCP sources said many in the party are not keen on a merger with the Sharad Pawar faction and the quick elevation of Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar as Maharashtra deputy chief minister is seen as a move to retain control.

Praful Pate (left) with Ajit Pawar (File Photo).

3 min readMumbaiFeb 1, 2026 02:42 PM IST First published on: Feb 1, 2026 at 02:42 PM IST

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president Praful Patel Sunday categorically denied reports suggesting he had been appointed as the party chief after Ajit Pawar’s death and dismissed these speculations as baseless and untrue.

In a post on X, Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP, said, “I have noted (a) few reports circulating in the media regarding my appointment as the National President of the Nationalist Congress Party. I wish to state with absolute clarity that these reports are totally baseless and lack any truth.”

I have noted few reports circulating in the media regarding my appointment as the National President of the Nationalist Congress Party. I wish to state with absolute clarity that these reports are totally baseless and lack any truth.

The Nationalist Congress Party is a…

— Praful Patel (@praful_patel) February 1, 2026

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“The Nationalist Congress Party is a democratic institution. A decision of this magnitude will only be made by consulting our senior leadership and MLAs, engaging with our dedicated party office-bearers, and respecting the sentiments and collective will of all our party members. Being a national party, we follow the established process in these matters,” he added.

Patel’s post is significant politically, as it comes amid discussions of internal power struggles within the NCP and a potential merger with the NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar.

Ajit Pawar, 66, who was serving as the NCP president and Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, died in a plane crash in his hometown of Baramati on January 28.

In the immediate aftermath of Ajit Pawar’s death, his wife Sunetra Pawar was elected leader of the NCP legislative party on Saturday and subsequently sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. This led to calls from certain factions within the party for her to assume the role of party president as well.

Ajit Pawar’s death has impacted the ongoing discussions between the two NCP factions. The merger negotiations, which were at an advanced stage, have now been delayed.

A highly-placed NCP source said, “Within the NCP, there is a struggle for control of the organisation. One faction wants to maintain control and is not keen on a merger.” The haste with which Sunetra Pawar was appointed the legislative party leader and deputy CM is also perceived as a move to retain the party’s control.

Sources indicated that recent developments have not gone well with NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, who, during a media interaction, expressed ignorance about Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in ceremony. “I am not aware,” he replied when asked about her taking on the deputy CM role.