'Pawar' transfer: Praful Patel, Supriya Sule new working presidents of NCP

NCP leaders Praful Patel, and Supriya Sule will be working presidents of the party

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday announced senior party leaders Praful Patel and Supriya Sule as the working presidents of the party. 82-year-old Pawar made the announcement during NCP's 25th-anniversary program in the national capital.

NCP was founded by Pawar and P A Sangma in 1999. The announcement was made in the presence of Ajit Pawar, a senior NCP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Supriya Sule is Sharad Pawar's daughter and is a Member of Parliament representing the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in the Pune district.

53-year-old Pune-born Sule will also be in charge of the upcoming state elections in Maharashtra, Punjab, and Haryana. She will also be responsible for Lok Sabha coordination. She has also been given responsibility for the Women and Youth wing of the party.

Praful Patel, a member of the Rajya Sabha, has been given responsibilities of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Goa, along with Rajya Sabha.

Praful Patel said he would continue to work to increase the footprint of the party. "I have been working alongside Pawar saheb since 1999. So, this is nothing new for me. Of course, I am happy at being elevated as Working President. I will continue to work to increase the footprint of the party," said 66-year-old Patel.

Ajit Pawar congratulated both Sule and Patel on their appointments. In a Tweet in Marathi, Ajit Pawar said the NCP "will make a valuable contribution to the development of the country and the state. It is believed that every worker and office bearer of the NCP party will work towards this goal. Congratulations again to the newly elected officials."

Reacting to the development, senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal told reporters, "They have been made the working presidents so that the election work, Rajya Sabha, and Lok Sabha work can be divided. They have been allotted more responsibilities on their shoulders because elections are near. This is for handling the 2024 Lok Sabha election work."

Former Maharashtra Minister and senior NCP leader Jitendra Awhad said the appointments are welcome as the duo are close to Sharad Pawar and have been groomed under him for many years.

Recently, Pawar resigned from the post of party president. But after much deliberation, Pawar withdrew his resignation following pressure from party leaders and supporters. The decision to withdraw the resignation was made after the party's core committee unanimously adopted a resolution urging Pawar to continue at the helm. The high-power core committee set up Pawar to choose his successor in the meeting had unanimously rejected his resignation. The committee, which was set up by Pawar to choose his successor, included Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Praful Patel, and Chaggan Bhujbal.