Mumbai: Celebrations broke out at the NCP party office in Mumbai as Sharad Pawar supporters rejoiced when the committee appointed to select the next NCP chief unanimously opposed senior Pawar's resignation from the top post. The core committee of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was considering the resignation of Pawar, has unanimously adopted a resolution urging the senior leader and party founder to continue at the helm, it is learnt.
After the meeting, Praful Patel, party vice president, said that Sharad Pawar had appointed a committee of party leaders to elect a new party president after announcing his resignation on Tuesday. In the meeting a unanimous proposal was passed which rejected his resignation.
"We will meet Pawar with this resolution and request him to reconsider his decision to quit. The NCP and the country needs a leader like Pawar at this hour. Pawar is a respected leader in the country. The response was strong against Pawar's decision to quit. The emotions cannot be ignored," Patel said.
Patel also said had taken his decision to quit without informing other party members. Apart from NCP leaders, political party leaders across the country have requested him to continue on his post, he said.
The committee, which was set up by Sharad Pawar to choose his successor, includes Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, former Union leader Praful Patel and Bhujbal. The meeting, which was held at the party's south Mumbai, was attended by the core committee members amid party workers congregating in large numbers against the Pawar's decision to quit from party post.
The emotionally charged up party workers were insisting that Pawar should continue at the mantle and lead the party. On Tuesday, Pawar announced his decision to quit as president of the party he founded and led. He left Congress to chart his own political course and floated NCP in 1999. The announcement, made at his autobiography launch event, caught leaders and workers of the 24-year-old party off-guard.
The Rajya Sabha MP had clarified that he was only stepping down as NCP chief but not retiring from public life. Pawar's announcement came amid speculation that his nephew Ajit Pawar and some of the NCP legislators may defect to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which the former deputy CM vehemently refuted and claimed that he would stick with the NCP till death parts him.
