The Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar on Saturday appointed senior leader PC Chacko as its second national working president.
Chacko is a former MP from Kerala’s Thrissur who joined the undivided Nationalist Congress Party in March 2021 after quitting the Congress.
Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, the MP from Maharashtra’s Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, is the party’s other national working president. Sule is the the Opposition INDIA bloc’s candidate from the seat in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Nationalist Congress Party was founded on June 10, 1999, by Sharad Pawar, Tariq Anwar and PA Sangma after they were expelled by the Congress over their objection to Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins.
In May 2023, Sharad Pawar announced that he is resigning as the Nationalist Congress Party’s national president. However, he subsequently withdrew his resignation, saying that he respected the “strong sentiments” his announcement had evoked among party leaders and workers.
Weeks later, Sharad Pawar appointed Sule and Praful Patel, the party’s vice president at the time, as the national working presidents of the Nationalist Congress Party.
However, in July, Sharad Pawar’s nephew and party leader Ajit Pawar, along with several party MLAs, joined Maharashtra’s coalition government comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena.
This split the Nationalist Congress Party, with one faction supporting Sharad Pawar and the other backing Ajit Pawar. Patel is among the party leaders who backed Ajit Pawar.
Both factions claimed the name of the electoral symbol of the party. In February, the Election Commission recognised the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the real Nationalist Congress Party and allocated it the “clock” symbol on the basis of the “test of legislative majority”.
The Sharad Pawar group challenged the poll panel’s decision in the Supreme Court. In March, the court ordered Sharad Pawar’s faction to continue using the name “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar” and the “man blowing turha” – allocated to it by the poll regulator – as its name and symbol for the Lok Sabha polls.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!