Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and working president of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, Praful Patel, on Friday said that newly sworn-in Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar will be the next national president of the party, with a formal decision expected within the next two weeks.
“Sunetra ji is the sole candidate for the national president’s post of the party and there is no question of consensus on it. She will be leading the legislative party as she is Deputy Chief Minister and she will be the National President. The decision on it is likely to be taken in the upcoming two weeks,” Patel said.
Amid an ongoing debate over a possible merger between the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), Patel said the party’s immediate focus was on organisational consolidation rather than alliance-building.
Speculation had also emerged that Patel himself could take over as national president. He, however, dismissed such reports as unfounded.
Patel’s remarks came three days after he, along with Sunetra Pawar, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan.
The merger debate between the two factions gained fresh traction after NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said in New Delhi on Thursday that discussions had been held with the late Ajit Pawar on reunification, but added that there was little point in revisiting the issue after his untimely death.
While Patel did not comment on the merger issue, party sources said that so far no proposal for a merger had been placed before the party and the matter could be considered only if such a proposal was formally brought forward. A party functionary said any decision on a merger would be taken solely by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, who would be leading the party, and that the issue could be considered only after she is appointed national president.
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Meanwhile, Maharashtra NCP (SP) president Shashikant Shinde, in a commemorative editorial in the party’s magazine, claimed that Ajit Pawar had been forced to exit the original NCP due to “invisible powers” and conspiracies. He further asserted that a final decision to merge the two factions had been reached on February 12 in the presence of Sharad Pawar, and that senior leaders had agreed to hand over the entire command of the unified party to Ajit Pawar following the merger.
“Fulfilling this merger and rebuilding the party with strength would be the only true tribute to Ajit Dada,” Shinde wrote.
Vallabh Ozarkar is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express' Mumbai bureau, recognized as an authoritative and deeply knowledgeable voice on the politics, governance, and infrastructure of Maharashtra. With more than nine years of experience in major news organizations, his reporting delivers high standards of Expertise and Trustworthiness.
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