Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been elected unopposed as president of the Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA) for the fourth consecutive term. The announcement was made on Sunday.
This comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol withdrew from the fray.
BJP, NCP crack deal
Mohol, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Pune, had filed his nomination to contest against Pawar for the post of MOA president.
However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting with the two leaders last week to ensure no friction over the election.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mohol wrote, “Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been elected unopposed as the President of Maharashtra Olympic Association, and I have been entrusted with the responsibility of Senior Vice President. Under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Maharashtra Olympic Association will continue its journey with the main goal of increasing sports infrastructure, creating new sports platforms and producing international-standard players.”
Split term
Speaking to the media, Mohol said that the four-year term will be split between him and Pawar.
“We decided to come together and not fight against each other after CM Fadnavis intervened. The four-year term will be split between Ajit Pawar and me,” he said.
A statement released by Pawar’s office also confirmed that he and Mohol would take turns to head the MOA.
Additionally, as per the deal, some key posts within the association will be given to members backed by Mohol.
“This was done to give importance to sports over everything else,” Pawar said at a press conference.
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“Out of the 60 members in the MOA, 28 were elected on Sunday as per the agreement. Mohol was elected senior vice-president of the MOA alongside Adil Sumariwala, Pradeep Gandhe and Prashant Deshpande from the Pawar-led panel. The remaining members would be selected following discussions with Fadnavis,” he added.
