Senior Nationalist Congress (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) Party leader Jitendra Awhad on Saturday denied reports that Jayant Patil has resigned as the Maharashtra state president of the NCP-SP. Awhad clarified in a post on social media platform X that Patil has not stepped down and labelled the reports as baseless mischief. “Jayant Patil Saheb is the state president. The news of his resignation being circulated is nothing but mischief. The party operates according to rules and discipline,” Awhad wrote in Marathi.
Earlier in the day, several media reports suggested that Patil had submitted his resignation and that Shashikant Shinde was likely to be named the new state president. The news quickly gained attention in political circles and sparked widespread speculation.
The discussions around a leadership change have been ongoing since the party’s foundation day event last year. Internal differences within the party over the state president’s role had also been reported. Several leaders were believed to have urged party chief Sharad Pawar to hand over the responsibility to a new face.
There had been growing speculation that Patil would step down soon. However, Awhad’s statement has put those rumours to rest for now.