Deepak Mankar Quits As Pune NCP President Amid Discontent Over MLC Nominations
Pune, 16th October 2024: Amid the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, attention had shifted away from the governor-appointed Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) announcements. However, yesterday, seven new MLCs from the Mahayuti alliance were sworn in. In response to being overlooked, Deepak Mankar, Pune City President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a close aide of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, has resigned from his position. This has led to speculation that Ajit Pawar’s NCP might face another major setback ahead of the elections.
The seven governor-appointed MLCs sworn in from the Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, were Hemant Patil and Manisha Kayande from Shiv Sena, Pankaj Bhujbal and Idris Naikwadi from Ajit Pawar’s NCP, and Mahant Babu Singh Maharaj, Vikrant Patil, and Chitra Wagh from the BJP. Deepak Mankar, feeling sidelined, resigned from his post along with 600 other office bearers, causing significant disruption in Pune’s political scene.
During a press conference, Deepak Mankar expressed how he had worked with full dedication for the NCP and how both he and his supporters felt hurt by not receiving additional responsibilities and being overlooked in the governor-appointed MLC nominations. “That is the reason for my resignation,” he said. Mankar also addressed Ajit Pawar directly, stating, “Dada, I want to ask you where I was lacking—please tell me. I am resigning from the City President post, but I will always work for the party as an activist.”
Mankar further voiced his disappointment with Sunil Tatkare, the Maharashtra State President of Ajit Pawar-led NCP, for not advocating for him sufficiently. He also questioned the appointments of Pankaj Bhujbal and Idris Naikwadi over his own.
