Not Interested In NCP President's Post: Praful Patel Day After Sharad Pawar Resigns

A day after NCP president Sharad Pawar resigned from his post, party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel said he is not interested in stepping into the former's shoes.

NCP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel has said that he doesn't want to take on the responsibility of the party's president. "I am not interested in the post," he said.

He also said that there is no question of appointing a new president unless a final decision on the resignation of Sharad Pawar is taken. "Personally, I am not ready to take up this responsibility. I am already the national vice-president of the party, it is a glorious post. I already have a lot of responsibilities. So, I have no interest in becoming the national president of the party," Praful Patel said.

NCP founder Sharad Pawar, who is known as the 'Chanakya' of Indian politics, sent the country's political corridors into a tizzy on Tuesday when he announced his resignation from the party president's post. Immediately after his announcement at the launch of his autobiography, NCP workers across Maharashtra launched protests urging him to reconsider his decision. Pawar, apparently, did not consult any party leader before taking the decision to quit as party chief. After getting the news, senior leaders rushed to Mumbai to convince him to take back his post.

With Patel out of the race to the NCP president's post, Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, and senior leader Jayant Patil are likely to battle it out among themselves. Former Maharashtra deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal may also throw is hat into the ring to compete against them.

Party leader and Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar said that Sharad Pawar took the decision of stepping down as party president due to his age and he will not take back his resignation. He said, "Pawar Saheb himself had said about the necessity of change in guard a few days back. We should see his decision in the light of his age and health also. Everyone has to take a decision according to time, Pawar Saheb has taken a decision and he won't take it back." 

However, later in the day, Ajit Pawar said: "We told him [Sharad Pawar] that workers are quite upset. We also told him that party workers want him to remain the party president along with having a working president. He said he will rethink his decision and requires 2-3 days."