National Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said that he wants to step down as the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as he was “never interested” in the role.
Speaking at the 24th Foundation Day event of the NCP “I am told that I don’t act tough as the leader of the opposition”.. I was never interested to work as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs,” he said.
Pawar also said it is up to NCP leadership to decide on his demand.
“Assign me any post in the party organisation, and I will do complete justice to whatever responsibility I am entrusted with,” he added.
Pawar took over the Leader of the Opposition in July 2022, after the MVA government, in which he was deputy chief minister, collapsed due to a rebellion in Shiv Sena.
This comes days after NCP supremo Sharad Pawar appointed Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as the working presidents of the party.
This will be the first time NCP will have the post of ‘working president’.
As the working presidents, Sule was given the responsibility of Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab whereas Patel got Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Both leaders represent the NCP in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and also have contacts across parties.
Amid these important announcement, Sharad’s nephew Ajit Pawar was not given any key responsibility.
Top leaders are of the opinion that, considering the upcoming general elections, Sharad Pawar has made this decision as the first poll strategy. They are also hopeful that once Pawar decides on Maharashtra, Ajit will be given all the responsibilities as he is the face of the party in the state.
Party leaders also feel that Pawar has already made a natural division in the party, where Sule is looking after national politics and Ajit will be looking after state politics.
The new leadership team will work closely with Sule and Patel but both leaders have the responsibility to continue Sharad Pawar’s work and carry forward his legacy at a national level.
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