A top NCP leader said on Thursday that the committee Sharad Pawar established to choose his successor will meet on Friday at 11 am at the party office in South Mumbai.
According to the news agency PTI, the committee consists of Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, his nephew Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, and Chhagan Bhujbal, among others.
Here are ten things to know about Sharad Pawar’s resignation.
1) Pawar stated on Tuesday that he would continue to be active in politics but will step aside as leader of the NCP, the political organisation he formed and has led since 1999.
2) According to party sources, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, and M. K. Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, called Sule to inquire about the NCP’s progress following Sharad Pawar’s statement that he would step down as its leader.
3) Pawar’s decision was still being pressed by NCP leaders. Supriya Sule, a Baramati Lok Sabha member and Ajit Pawar’s daughter, is most likely to lead the party nationally, according to party workers who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Ajit Pawar will likely lead the Maharashtra branch.
4) According to party sources, the NCP’s leadership will likely remain within the Pawar family because handing over the reins to someone outside the family could cause rifts and power struggles within the organisation, which was founded in 1999, according to PTI.
5) The national vice president of the NCP, Praful Patel, stated on Wednesday that Sharad Pawar has not changed his mind despite several requests for him to do so from party officials and supporters.
6) Sharad Pawar said that the party committee that he himself appointed on Tuesday to choose his successor did not convene on Wednesday.
7) “The committee will choose Sharad Pawar’s replacement if the need arises, and the decision will be made unanimously. There is no question of considering his successor until a definitive decision has been made, Patel said as quoted by PTI. He asked for time to contemplate his choice after the party asked him to reconsider it.
8) In response to rumours that Supriya Sule will be selected as the NCP’s national president and Ajit Pawar as the leader of the Maharashtra unit, Patel stated, “There is no vacancy. Sharad Pawar is the party’s essence and soul, whether he serves as president or not.
9) Sharad Pawar was being urged by the party to change his mind, he claimed.
10) On Tuesday, shortly after NCP leader Sharad Pawar announced his departure as party president, his nephew Ajit Pawar endorsed the decision, adding that the incoming leader of the organisation would report to Sharad Pawar.