Ajit Pawar breaks silence on Praful Patel, Supriya Sule's appointments as NCP working presidents

Hours after NCP chief Sharad Pawar declared Praful Patel and Supriya Sule working presidents of the party, nephew Ajit Pawar, who is known to display rebellious streaks, has reacted to the development in the party. Ajit said that he is happy with their appointments.

Earlier on Saturday, NCP chief dismissed suggestions that the appointment of his daughter Supriya Sule as the working president of the party has upset his nephew Ajit, asserting he himself had mooted the proposal. "The suggestion was made by him (Ajit Pawar). So, where is the question of him being happy or unhappy," Pawar told reporters in Delhi to questions on the Maharashtra Leader of Opposition being upset about Sule's elevation.

The veteran leader announced earlier in the day three-term Lok Sabha member Sule and Praful Patel will be the working presidents of the NCP. Ajit Pawar was seen as an heir-apparent in the NCP, but his dalliances with the BJP, including an early morning swearing-in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister along with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, had not been received well by the party.

"There is no vacancy now. We can talk about it when there is a vacancy," Pawar quipped when asked if Patel or Sule could become NCP chief in the future. Sule was also appointed the chairperson of the party's Central Election Authority as well as the in-charge of Maharashtra, the only state where the NCP has a formidable electoral presence, ushering in a generational shift in the party.

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Pawar said there was "not even one per cent truth" in reports of Ajit Pawar being upset with the decision. "Jayant Patil is already the president of Maharashtra unit of NCP, Ajit Pawar is the Leader of Opposition in the assembly. Praful Patel and Supriya Sule did not have any such responsibility in the party and were ready to devote time for the party," Pawar said.

He said senior party leaders had made suggestions to the effect and the proposal was under discussion within the party for the past one month and he had only made the announcement on Saturday.

Pawar said Sule being a Lok Sabha member has to work in Delhi and has been given responsibility of adjoining states of Haryana and Punjab, besides Maharashtra. Similarly, Patel has personal contacts in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh ? states that are closer to Gondiya, his home town, Pawar said.

(With inputs from PTI)