Talk grows of Praful Patel as NCP chief; MLAs to decide on Sunetra Pawar for deputy CM
Following the death of Ajit Pawar, both internal jockeying and political negotiations have intensified within his faction of the NCP
The late Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, has emerged in discussions for two key roles: the party’s national president and the post of deputy chief minister. However, senior party leaders clarified on Friday that no final decision has yet been taken on her elevation. They stressed that the party’s legislators will first elect the leader of the legislative party. Only after that will discussions move to the choice of national president and the possible reunification of the two NCP factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar.
Meanwhile, speculation has gathered pace around the name of Praful Patel for the post of national president after he, along with senior leaders Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde, met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Patel currently serves as the party’s national working president.
Sources say the central leadership of the BJP is closely watching developments within the Ajit Pawar camp. According to party insiders, the BJP high command has indicated a positive view towards Sunetra Pawar becoming deputy chief minister, though no formal proposal has yet been placed before the state leadership.
While these meetings were under way in Mumbai, the Pawar family was in Baramati performing the immersion of Ajit Pawar’s ashes at the confluence of the Kanha and Nira rivers. Present there were Sunetra Pawar, Parth Pawar, Jay Pawar and Ajit Pawar’s cousin Supriya Sule, along with Sharad Pawar.
At the same time, Patel, Tatkare, Bhujbal and Munde met Fadnavis at the Varsha residence in Mumbai for about an hour to discuss the vacant deputy chief minister’s post and the fast-changing situation inside the party. Fadnavis is learnt to have told them to submit an official proposal naming their candidate, after which a decision would be taken.
After the meeting, Patel told reporters that discussions focused on filling the vacant deputy chief minister’s position at the earliest. He said personal opinion, party sentiment and public feeling would all be taken into account. He also made it clear that no decision had yet been reached on Sunetra Pawar’s name, adding that the Pawar family still needed to be consulted and that their sentiments would be respected.
Tatkare later said at the party office that talks with Sunetra Pawar and the family would begin once all the final religious rites for Ajit Pawar were completed. Bhujbal added that a meeting of NCP legislators had been called for Saturday to unanimously elect the leader of the legislative party. Once that choice is made, he indicated, the oath-taking for the deputy chief minister could even happen the same day.
Sources further suggest that, alongside the legislators’ meeting, a session of the party’s national executive may also be convened to decide on a new national president. Ajit Pawar held that position until his death, leaving both the party presidency and the deputy chief minister’s office vacant and triggering the current round of negotiations and realignment.