'I Will Work Diligently': Supriya Sule On Taking Charge As Working President Of NCP

Nationalist Congress Party's new working president Supriya Sule vowed to work hard with the rest of the party members after she was appointed to the top post by her father Sharad Pawar on Saturday. Pawar named Sule and Praful Patel as the working presidents of the NCP, thus, sidelining Ajit Pawar.

Pawar made the announcement at a function to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Nationalist Congress Party here.

Sule will be in charge of NCP affairs in Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, and issues related to women, youth, students and the Lok Sabha.

By making Sule in-charge of Maharashtra, Pawar had effectively made nephew Ajit Pawar report to her on party matters, a move that could lead to unease in the party.

"I am grateful to NCP President Hon. Pawar Saheb and all the Senior Leaders, party colleagues, party workers and well wishers of @NCPSpeaks for bestowing this huge responsibility of Working President along with Hon. @praful_patel Bhai.

"To my fellow members of the party, because of whom we have come this far,I will work diligently along with all of you to further strengthen the NCP and we collectively will serve the nation for the larger good of our fellow citizens," Supriya Sule tweeted.

Ajit Pawar, who had joined hands with the BJP in 2019 and was sworn-in as Deputy Chief Minister in an early morning swearing in ceremony with Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister, appeared visibly upset with the announcement and left the party office here without interacting with the media.

An elated Patel said he was surprised by Pawar's announcement and would continue to work for the party.

"I have been working alongside Pawar saheb since 1999. So, this is nothing new for me. Of course, I am happy at being elevated as Working President. I will continue to work to increase the footprint of the party," Patel said.

Pawar also made Patel party in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Goa, and Rajya Sabha.