NCP holds talks with Fadnavis on leadership choices after Ajit Pawar’s death

A senior delegation of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday to discuss leadership appointments following the death of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, a tragedy that has created a vacuum within both the party and the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

The delegation was led by NCP working president Praful Patel and included state unit chief Sunil Tatkare, ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, and former minister Dhananjay Munde. The meeting focused on the process for appointing a new legislative party leader and filling the vacant deputy chief minister’s post.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Patel said the party had discussed the need to convene a meeting of NCP legislators to elect a new leader. He said the chief minister was informed that decisions on leadership and cabinet portfolios needed to be taken at the earliest to ensure administrative stability.

Patel stressed that the party would finalise its position only after consulting its MLAs, office-bearers and grassroots workers. “Our future course of action will reflect the sentiments of the party’s legislators and cadre,” he said.

Addressing speculation over the possible appointment of Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, as deputy chief minister, Patel said the matter was not discussed with Fadnavis. He described it as an internal party issue and said no decision had yet been taken.

“The family is still in mourning and performing the last rites,” Patel said, adding that party leaders would speak with Sunetra Pawar once the immediate rituals were completed. Any decision on the deputy chief minister’s post, he reiterated, would be guided by the views of NCP legislators.

Patel said the leadership vacancy would be filled soon and that a suitable decision would be reached without undue delay.

Earlier, NCP minister Narhari Zirwal had publicly backed Sunetra Pawar for the deputy chief minister’s role, saying after Ajit Pawar’s funeral in Baramati that her appointment would help carry forward the Pawar family’s political legacy.

With IANS inputs