The simmering power struggle within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) came into the open on Monday after the party's national secretary, Sachchidanand Singh, issued a legal notice challenging the appointment of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar as the party's national president.
The development coincided with remarks from NCP working president Praful Patel, who publicly acknowledged the organisational challenges the party has faced since the death of Sunetra Pawar's husband, Ajit Pawar, and called for internal course correction.
"To fill Ajit Pawar's vacuum is not an easy task. There is a need to take corrective measures within the party," Patel told mediapersons in what was his first public acknowledgement of the party's internal issues.
The NCP has been navigating a leadership transition since Ajit Pawar died in an air crash in January. Following his death, Sunetra Pawar assumed the party's top post, while Patel and Maharashtra unit chief Sunil Tatkare, both widely regarded as potential contenders for the leadership, were increasingly perceived to have been sidelined.
At the same time, Sunetra Pawar's son and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar emerged as an influential figure within the organisation. His growing role has reportedly caused unease among several party leaders, many of whom have questioned why they should take direction from someone they believe has limited political experience.
In a legal notice dated July 9, Singh addressed Sunetra Pawar, Praful Patel and national general secretary Brijmohan Shrivastav, seeking to have her election as party president declared invalid.
The notice cites party records dated February 17, claiming that it had been decided Praful Patel, as national working president, would function as interim national president after Ajit Pawar's death. It further states that amendments to the party constitution had already been approved on February 16.
"Instead of following proper constitutional protocols, Brijmohan Shrivastav, a General Secretary, independently passed a resolution on February 18, calling for a national convention and initiating an election process to choose a permanent Party President," Singh stated in the notice.
According to the notice, the authority to convene a national convention rested exclusively with Patel, making the convention held at Mumbai's NSCI Club on February 26—where Sunetra Pawar was elected national president—constitutionally questionable.
Singh has also raised objections to the party's communications with the Election Commission of India (ECI). The notice argues that letters submitted to the poll body on February 28 and March 10 regarding the leadership change contain "internally inconsistent" information. It further alleges that a final list of office-bearers was submitted to the ECI on April 29 without approval or authorisation from the party's national delegates.
The legal notice gives the NCP 15 days to declare Sunetra Pawar's election, along with the revised list of office-bearers, null and void. It also seeks to invalidate the party's communications to the Election Commission dated February 28, March 10 and April 29. In addition, Singh has demanded the formation of a Central Election Authority to oversee fresh organisational elections in accordance with the party constitution after due notice is served to all national delegates.
The leadership dispute follows a series of developments within the party over the past several months. Ajit Pawar died in an air crash at Baramati on January 28. On February 26, Sunetra Pawar was elected national NCP president at the party's national convention held at the NSCI Club in Mumbai, while Praful Patel was re-elected national working president and Sunil Tatkare retained the post of state party president. Two days later, on February 28, Sunetra Pawar wrote to the Election Commission seeking to have all decisions taken between Ajit Pawar's death and her elevation declared null and void. She subsequently informed the Commission of her appointment as party chief in another communication dated March 10.
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