New Delhi [India], June 10 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday announced Praful Patel and Supriya Sule as the new working presidents of the party. Pawar made the announcement while addressing party workers at the 25th anniversary of the Foundation Day of the party, which he had formed in 1999 along with P A Sangma. Party leader Ajit Pawar was also present at the occasion.
“Appointing Supriya Sule as NCP Working President was suggested earlier…,” says Ajit Pawar
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], June 11 (ANI): Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, dismissed reports of his discontent regarding the appointment of Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as the party’s working presidents, stating that he is happy with the party’s decision.
“Some media reports that I am unhappy that the party did not give any responsibility to me is wrong. Our committee was formed at that time when Sharad Pawar resigned. Two decisions are to be taken at that time. The first was to request Sharad Pawar to withdraw his resignation and the second was to appoint Supriya Sule as a working President and it was suggested when the committee was formed.
But the rest of the committee members said to focus on persuading Sharad Pawar to retract his resignation. Being in Democracy and respecting the majority, I decided to focus on the resignation issue, because new leadership has to be strengthened and enhanced,” Pawar said while talking to the reporters here.
He further said that he is interested mainly in state politics. “I am the Opposition leader of Maharashtra and party leader at the state level. My interests are at the state level and Supriya is doing well in national politics,” he said. He highlighted his resignation from national politics in 1991, contrasting it with Supriya’s presence in Delhi for several years. Ajit Pawar explained that he had chosen to join state politics due to his lack of interest in national politics. He also said, “I am interested mainly in Maharashtra politics, so I have always cleared that point in the party. For the past several years, Supriya is in Delhi. Praful Patel and I became MP at the same time in 1991, but as I was not interested in national politics, I resigned and joined state politics.”
On the foundation day of the NCP on Saturday, the Pawar patriarch appointed Sule not only as the working president of the NCP but also put her in charge of Maharashtra, presently handled by his nephew Ajit Pawar. Senior leader Praful Patel too will be the working president along with Sule.
Pawar made the announcement while addressing party workers at the 25th anniversary of the Foundation Day of the party, which he had formed in 1999 along with P A Sangma.
Party leader Ajit Pawar was also present at the occasion.
“Reports are gossip,” Supriya Sule refutes claims of Ajit Pawar ‘unhappy’ with her elevation
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], June 12 (ANI): Newly appointed working president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Supriya Sule, on Sunday refuted the claims about her cousin Ajit Pawar of ‘being unhappy’ after her elevation, and termed them as ‘gossip’.
On the NCP foundation day on June 10, party patriarch Sharad Pawar appointed Supriya Sule and senior leader Praful Patel as working presidents of the party. In addition to working as president, Sule was also put in charge of Maharashtra which was being handled by Ajit Pawar.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Sule said, “Who says he (Ajit Pawar) is not happy, has anybody asked him? Reports are gossip”. Earlier in the day, Supriya Sule visited Pune and met several party workers. The workers also felicitated her. It was Sule’s first visit to Pune after being appointed the working president of the party. Sule also paid tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Gandhi Bhavan in Pune city on Sunday afternoon.
