Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil: Who Will Succeed Sharad Pawar As NCP Chief?

Pawar also announced that a four-member committee will now decide who the next president of the party will be. 

Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil: Who Will Succeed Sharad Pawar As NCP Chief?

Source : PTI

New Delhi: In a major political move in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday resigned from his position as party president. At an event for the publication of his book in Mumbai, Pawar said that he has decided to take retirement from the post of National President of the NCP.

While announcing his decision, Pawar said, "After a long period of public life from May 1, 1960, to May 1, 2023, it is necessary to take a step back. Hence, I have decided to step down as President of the Nationalist Congress Party."

Pawar also recommended that a committee of NCP members be formed to decide who the next president of the party will be. 

He also suggested leaders for the committee which includes Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, K.K. Sharma, P.C. Chacko, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Supriya Sule, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope, Jitendra Awhad, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Jaydev Gaikwad, among others.

With the big announcement comes the bigger question: who will become the next NCP chief? 

Let us take a look at the top five probable candidates who could be the new NCP Chief:

Ajit Pawar: Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar is one of the leading contenders for the post of NCP chief. The leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Ajit Pawar has held various important ministries during his three-decade-old career, including deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a record four times. Other portfolios included agriculture, water resources, rural soil conservation, irrigation, and power and planning.

Jayant Patil: NCP state president Jayant Patil is one of the senior leaders of the party and a close confidante of Pawar. He has represented the Islampur assembly constituency for more than 3 decades. He has also served as Cabinet Minister of the Water Resources Department in Uddhav Thackeray's ministry. Previously, Patil held the Rural Development Ministry (2009 to 2014), the Finance Ministry (1999 to 2008), and the Home Ministry (2008 to 2009) of Maharashtra.

Supriya Sule: Three-time MP of Baramati, Supriya Sule is the daughter of Sharad Pawar and one of the top contenders for the post of party chief. A few days back, Sule had indicated that there will be two political "blasts" (political) in the next 15 days--one in Delhi and another in Maharashtra. "There will be one in Delhi and the other in the state," the daughter of the NCP chief said without elaborating.

Chhagan Bhujbal: Chhagan Bhujbal, initially affiliated with the Shiv Sena, eventually joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He embarked on his political journey by contesting and winning his first election as a corporator from the Shiv Sena in 1973. However, his dissatisfaction with the Shiv Sena led him to part ways and join the Congress party. 

He served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1999 to 2003. Earlier, he also served as Minister of Public Works Department and Minister of Home Affairs in Maharashtra.

Bhujbal has been mired in corruption allegations and has faced imprisonment in connection with corruption cases.

Praful Patel: Apart from being a politician, NCP leader Praful Patel is also an industrialist and sports administrator. He served as the president of India's association football governing body the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from 2009 to 2022.

Patel was elected to Lok Sabha four times and Rajya Sabha five times. He also served as the Minister of Civil Aviation from 2004 to 2011.