Sharad Pawar set to hold internal polls in bid to revamp NCP

MUMBAI: A fortnight after he withdrew his resignation from the post of party president, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is all set to revamp the entire organization and conduct internal party elections, with district-wise responsibility given to former cabinet members and senior leaders.
Key decisions on organizational reforms were taken at the core committee meeting of NCP presided over by Pawar in the city on Wednesday.
While withdrawing his resignation, Pawar had emphasized on making organizational changes, assigning new responsibilities and creating a new leadership.
Wednesday's meeting was attended by leader of opposition Ajit Pawar and NCP leaders Praful Patel, state NCP president Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Sunil Tatkare, Jeetendra Awhad, Supriya Sule and Fauzia Khan. The core committee questioned the Shinde-Fadnavis government's decision to revoke the suspension of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh, who it said was responsible for the downfall of the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said Jaiprakash Dandegaonkar has been entrusted with the task of conducting organizational elections across the state, while in Mumbai, the internal polls will be the responsibility of former home minister Dilip Walse Patil. "Dendegaonkar will be the returning officer for the rest of Maharashtra, while Walse Patil be in charge of Mumbai. We expect both will soon announce the schedule for the organizational elections," Tapase said.
He said that along with Dendegaonkar and Walse Patil, former cabinet members have been given charge of districts to oversee organizational matters in their respective Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies. "The NCP leadership expects these leaders to tour across the state and bring in coordination among local leaders and party-affiliated frontal organizations. Similarly, NCP will appoint booth-level workers in every constituency in the next two months," he said.
Tapase said the core committee has taken objection to the revocation of Singh's suspension. "It appears BJP is expressing gratitude to Singh for having falsely framed Anil Deshmukh, who was home minister. Singh himself has stated that his complaint against Deshmukh was based on hearsay. We will take such issues to the masses and expose the BJP at all levels," he said.
On the Karnataka assembly election results, Tapase said that the core committee felt the verdict assumes political importance and similar anti-incumbency prevails against the Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state. "We are sure that in both the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, the BJP will be dislodged," he said.
Meanwhile, the NCP appointed booth committees. Accordingly, Anil Deshmukh will be in charge for the Nagpur region, Rajendra Shingane for Amravati, Jeetendra Awhad for Konkan, Dhananjay Munde for Marathwada, Shashikant Shinde for western Maharashtra, Sunil Shelkar for Pune region, Ashok Pawar for Solapur, Anil Bhaidas Patil for north Maharashtra and Aniket Tatkare for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
In June 2023, the NCP has organized a grand event in Ahmednagar to mark its 24th foundation day. The party was formed in 1999.