NCP faces internal unrest as Sunetra Pawar's election challenged

Mumbai: Unrest is brewing within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over the party's leadership style, particularly the involvement of NCP MP and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar's elder son, Parth Pawar, in running the party's affairs. A sign of the growing discontent emerged when NCP Secretary Sachchidanand Singh sent a legal notice to Sunetra, claiming that her election as the party's national president was illegal and demanding that fresh elections be held.

In the notice sent to Sunetra on July 9, Singh questioned the entire election process adopted by the party for the presidential polls. He claimed that the party constitution mandates the creation of an independent Central Election Authority and the appointment of a Returning Officer to publish an official election schedule, but neither was constituted.

Singh has given the party 15 days to comply with a list of demands, including declaring the "purported" election of Sunetra as national president invalid. He has also sought recalling all communications and filings made to the Election Commission of India, including the appointment of office-bearers, be declared as "null and void". He has warned that he will initiate legal proceedings if the party fails to comply with his demands. Besides Sunetra, NCP's national working president Praful Patel and national general secretary Brijmohan Shrivastav have also been named as respondents.


Questions are being raised particularly over Parth, whom several party leaders accuse of taking decisions unilaterally and is unwilling to listen to others.