MUMBAI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP national president Sunetra Pawar has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), stating that any correspondence from NCP leaders between January 28 and the date of her appointment as party chief should not be treated as official party correspondence.
The letter was written on February 28, two days after she was elected as a parliamentarian national president of the party.
Her letter has invalidated the February 16, 2026 communication to the ECI by labor president Praful Patel and state president Sunil Tatkare, as it had alleged that in the absence of Ajit Pawar, Patel was entrusted with the authority to take decisions for the party.
Interestingly, her letter does not mention Patel or Tatkar, raising questions as to whether the two senior NCP leaders still hold the posts previously allotted to them by the late Ajit Pawar or whether there has been a change.
A person briefed on the developments said Sunetra Pawar’s letter to the ECI and the absence of any mention of the two NCP leaders indicate that she has disbanded the existing party body, with both leaders likely to lose their positions as she seeks to build her team.
