After resignation, Sharad Pawar forms 18-member committee to select his successor

Putting an end to wide speculation over NCP leader Ajit Pawar immediately becoming Sharad Pawar's successor as party chief, the veteran NCP leader who announced his resignation on May 2 has now formed a committee that will choose the next head of the party. On Wednesday, Republic TV accessed the names of 18 committee members who will actively take part in selecting Sharad Pawar's replacement in the party.

Sharad Pawar forms 18-member committee to select his successor

#LIVE | Sharad Pawar sets up an 18-member committee; Republic accesses the full list of committee formed by Sharad Pawar.#NCP #SharadPawar #PawarRetireshttps://t.co/JBOJSkzT7L pic.twitter.com/EEdLX0382d

— Republic (@republic)

It is significant to mention that the committee formed by Sharad Pawar will include his nephew Ajit Pawar, daughter Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, Dilip Walse Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Praful Patel, Jaydev Gaikwad, Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope, Jitendra Whad, Hassan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Sunil Tatkare, Fauzia Khan, K K Sharma,  Dheeraj Sharma, P C Chacko 
and Sonia Duhan.

According to the sources, the committee will decide the next party chief from the names recommended by Sharad Pawar himself. Sharad Pawar said, "I am resigning from the post of the national president of NCP. It’s time for a new generation to guide the party and the direction it intends to take,” adding that a committee will be formed to decide who should be given the responsibility of the NCP chief's post.

Speculations around next NCP chief

Among the top leaders within the NCP party, the names of Praful Patel, who is a Member of Parliament (MP) from Rajya Sabha; Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP; Ajit Pawar, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Maharashtra Assembly; and NCP MLAs Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil are doing the rounds.

Sharad Pawar resigns as NCP chief

Pawar announced his resignation on May 2. However, his decision to leave the party chief's position didn't go well with his party leaders, who made a huge outcry, asking Pawar to reconsider his decision, with some breaking down in tears while others said that they would not leave unless the veteran leader changed his mind.

In his last speech before announcing his resignation, Pawar said he has decided to step down as president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and would not contest elections again. "I have three years remaining in the Rajya Sabha. I will not contest elections henceforth," said Pawar, speaking at the release of his autobiography, 'Lok Maze Sangati.' 

"I started my political career on May 1, 1960. Yesterday, we celebrated May Day. After this prolonged political career, one must think about stopping somewhere. One must not be greedy," Pawar added.