Amid reports of Jayant Patil's resignation, NCP (SP) to hold meet on July 15

The NCP (SP) has convened its general body meeting on Tuesday, party leaders said, amid speculation over the Sharad Pawar-led outfit's next Maharashtra unit chief.

Reports in a section of media have claimed NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil has resigned from the post and that party MLC Shashikant Shinde will take over from him.

Shinde has said if he is given an opportunity, it will a turning point for him.


"On July 15, all party leaders will meet to discuss the future course of action," he told reporters.

Patil has been the state president of the undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) since 2018. After the party split in July 2023 following the rebellion by Ajit Pawar and other MLAs, Patil continued to occupy the same post in the NCP (SP) faction led by Sharad Pawar.

NCP (SP) chief national spokesperson Jitendra Awhad in a statement on Saturday called reports of Patil's resignation mischievous.

A meeting has been called on July 15. "Let's see what happens," Awhad told PTI on Sunday.

There has been no official comment so far from the party or Jayant Patil about his resignation.

There have been reports in a section of media, including news channels, that Patil has stepped down from his post and Shashikant Shinde is set to succeed him.

On June 10, on the NCP's 26th foundation day, Patil hinted at stepping down from the post in the presence of party chief Sharad Pawar.

It is important for the party to give a chance to new faces, Patil had said, triggering an emotional reaction from workers who urged him to continue.

Patil, a staunch loyalist of Sharad Pawar, has been with him since the formation of the NCP in 1999. He sided with the Pawar senior after Ajit Pawar rebelled in 2023.

An eight-term MLA from Islampur in Maharashtra's Sangli district, Patil has been representing the constituency for more than three decades.

He had served as the cabinet minister, holding charge of the Water Resources Department, in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Earlier, he served as the state's rural development minister (2009-2014), finance minister (1999- 2008) and home minister (2008- 2009).

In 2018, he was unanimously elected as the state president of the then undivided NCP, replacing Sunil Tatkare.