Sharad Pawar had announced his decision to step down as the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on May 2, but many party leaders and workers urged him to reconsider his decision. In response, Mr. Pawar promised to rethink his decision but requested party workers to stop resigning from their positions. He also said that he would need two to three days to think about the matter. On May 3, senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal endorsed Mr. Pawar’s daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule as his successor if Mr. Pawar does not continue as the party president. “If the situation arises, the committee will decide on Pawar’s successor and the decision will be unanimous. He sought time to think over his decision after the party asked him to reconsider it, and till the final decision is arrived at, there is no question of deliberating on his successor,” he added.
In his shock announcement to step down on Tuesday, Mr Pawar had named a committee and tasked it with choosing his successor. Mr Patel, who is part of the committee, has already declared that he is not in the
race for the top post. It seems that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is currently in a state of flux with the uncertainty over Sharad Pawar’s resignation as party chief. While some party leaders are advocating for Mr. Pawar’s daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule to be his successor, others are saying that there is no vacancy for the post until Mr. Pawar decides to step down officially. The party leaders have been holding meetings to discuss the road ahead, and it remains to be seen how this situation will unfold in the coming days.
