In the wake of NCP chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s death in a tragic plane crash, questions have emerged regarding party leadership and decision-making. Senior NCP leader Praful Patel has now clarified the party’s stance on a plethora of issues.
The NCP Rajya Sabha MP said Ajit Pawar was a key leader of the party and Sunetra Pawar was appointed as Deputy Chief Minister of the state after holding consultations with senior party leaders.
“Considering the sentiments of both the party and the public, Sunetra Tai accepted our request to take on this responsibility. The Pawar family observed three days of mourning, after which the swearing-in ceremony was held,” Patel said.
Patel also emphasised that responsibility for following legislative procedures and making key decisions lies with him and senior leader Sunil Tatkare. He noted that outsiders, who have never contested elections, have been giving statements against the party leadership, which is entirely inappropriate.
NCP chief to be appointed by right person
On the appointment of party president, Praful Patel said the decision in this regard will be taken by the right person and that will happen without his participation.
“The decision on the party president will be made by the right person. This will happen without me. I will not take that position. Our decision-making process will remain within our limits, and no external discussions will influence it,” he said.
On local body elections, Patel clarified that the NCP has adopted different strategies in different areas to avoid vote splitting. “For example, in Ahilyanagar we contested against BJP, while in Nashik it was against Shinde Shiv Sena. The NCP-SP alliance was only for local body elections,” he said.
Discussed Finance Ministry issue with CM, says Patel
On Sunetra Pawar not being allocated the Finance Ministry, Patel said that the issue was discussed with CM Fadnavis and he decided to keep the portfolio temporarily, especially with the budget underway. He said the CM felt Sunetra Pawar is new and she should not face any problem.
Patel reiterated that he only holds temporary leadership responsibility and will not become the national president of the NCP.
