Sharad Pawar on Saturday announced Supriya Sule and Praful Patel working presidents of the Nationalist Congress Party. Pawar made the announcement at the 25th anniversary of the party, founded by him and P A Sangma in 1999. The announcement was made in the presence of Ajit Pawar, a key player in NCP.
Who is Praful Patel?
He is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra and was elected to the 10th, 11th, and 12th Lok Sabha three times in a row. He was once more chosen to serve in the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009. Between 2000 and 2006, Praful Patel was also re-elected twice to the Rajya Sabha.
He has served on a number of parliamentary committees throughout the course of his lengthy career in politics, including Finance, Civil Aviation, Environment and Forests, and Foreign Affairs, to mention a few. He served as the founder and chairman of the Indo-UK Parliamentary Forum and the Indo-US Parliamentary Forum, respectively.
The 2005 CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) Aviation Minister of the Year award went to Praful Patel. This accolade recognises the national minister who has done the most to advance aviation in the Asia Pacific region. Praful Patel was ranked as the top minister in 2006 by the prestigious news publication India Today. In 2007, the Economic Times presented him with the Reformer of the Year Award.
As the President of the AIFF
Patel submitted a candidature in 2013 for India to host the FIFA World Club Championships in 2015 and 2016. Under Patel's leadership, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) launched the Indian Super League, which is operated by the Football Sports Development Pvt Ltd. and intends to increase the competitiveness of Indian football on the global stage. Patel made known the names of the eight Indian Super League team owners in April 2014.
In order to gain their assistance and knowledge for the "mutual growth, promotion, and continuous emphasis on the development of football," Patel inked agreements with the German Football Association (DFB), the French Football Federation (FFF), and the Japan Football Association (JFA) in 2015. When India hosted Puerto Rico in 2016, Patel brought back international friendlies, giving Mumbai its first international game in 61 years.
Patel was appointed the senior vice president of the Asian Football Confederation on December 1st, 2016. India subsequently won the bid to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017, and in September 2016 it played host to the AFC U-16 Championship. The AFC Developing Member Association of the Year Award went to the All India Football Federation at the 2016 AFC Annual Awards, which were held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Praful Patel was elected unopposed as the AIFF President for the third consecutive term on January 21, 2016.
