As the debate over who will succeed Sharad Pawar as the next Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president raged in the State political circles, NCP’s vice-president Praful Patel on Wednesday dismissed the speculation that he was in the race the party chief’s post and also denied that Pawar had resigned from his post because of the rift within the party.
A day after Pawar stunned everyone by announcing his decision to step down as the NCP president, the names of Patel, Pawar’s nephew and leader of the Opposition Ajit Pawar, daughter and party MP Supriya Sule and State NCP president Jayant Patil cropped up as the probable contenders for the party chief’s post.
Patel’s vehement denial about the rift within the NCP came in the midst of intense speculation that there were serious differences between Ajit dada – as Ajit Pawar is known in the Maharashtra political circles – and Supriya Sule and it was Ajit dada who precipitated the situation within the party that prompted Pawar to announce his decision to step down from his post.
On his part, Patel – who is Pawar’s close confidant and also the convenor of the search-committee appointed to choose the successor to Pawar – said that no discussion had taken place on the issue so far within the NCP. He asked the media not to speculate on issues relating to the choice of next NCP president.
Talking to media persons here, Patel said: “When a national leader of the stature of Pawar resigned from the party chief’s post, he must have thought about the whole issue before taking the decision. After party leaders and office bearers pressured him to reconsider his decision, Pawar sought two to three days from us to take a decision. He has not told anything to us so far”
“In case, if Pawar decides not to reconsider his decision, then the search committee will start the process of electing a new president in his place. I can tell you one thing: the choice of the party’s new president will be unanimous,” the former Union Minister said.
Asked to comment on the speculation that he himself and Supriya were being considered as strong contenders for the NCP chief’s post, Patel said: “I am currently the vice-president of the NCP. For me, this is an honourable post. I do not nurse such dreams. I am not at all ready or interested in taking up the party president’s post. As far as Supriya is concerned, party’s senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal said in one of the television interviews that he would like to see Supriya as the next president of the party. That was his personal opinion”.
Asked if Pawar resigned from the party chief’s post because of the rift within the party, Patel said: “The so-called rift within the party is being seen in the media. But, there is absolutely no rift within the party. The NCP as a party is united. Pawar will always remain the supremo of the party”.
Earlier in the day, local television channels had carried reports that the NCP had in the morning convened a senior patty leaders’ meeting at the YB Chavan centre in south Mumbai to which the current state party president Jayant Patil had not been invited. Reacting to the reports, Patil had said in Pune earlier in the day: “May be my presence was not needed at the meeting. That’s why I had not received any invitation for the meeting”.
When asked if Jayant Patil was unhappy for having been reportedly side-lined in matters relating to the party leadership issue, Patel said: “Jayant Patil has not taken any different stand. Nor is he unhappy. He had gone to Pune in the morning to attend a meeting of his factory and is returning in the evening”.
“First of all, let me make it clear. No meeting had been convened today. Nor any meeting happened today. No decision has been taken yet. ... Whenever it is necessary, I am going to convene the meeting. When the meeting is scheduled, as a convenor I will let you know about it,” Patel said.
Meanwhile, Patel asked the party workers to exercise patience and the leaders not to resign from their party posts to express their unhappiness over Pawar’s decision to step down as the NCP president.