Jitendra Awhad resigns as NCP general secretary

Nationalist Congress Party NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday submitted his resignation from his post as the partys general secretary a day after party supremo Sharad Pawar announced his decision to step down as its presidentI have resigned from my post of National General Secretary and I have sent my resignation to Sharad Pawar Saheb All office bearers of Thane NCP have also resigned after Pawar Sahebs announcement Jitendra Awhad told ANIOn Tuesday Pawar had said that he is stepping down as party chief with the surprise announcement drawing emotional reactions from thousands of NCP leaders workers and supporters who urged him to reconsiderThose who urged Pawar to reconsider included Chhagan Bhujbal Jitendra Awhad and Dilip Walse PatilPawar a former Maharashtra Chief Minister and union minister was seen as a key architect of moves towards opposition unity ahead of the 2024 electoral battlePawars nephew Ajit Pawar who had earlier said that Pawar Saheb himself had said about the necessity of change in guard a few days back later said that the NCP veteran would take two to three days to rethink his decisionAlso Read After announcement of stepping down as NCP chief Sharad Pawar carries on daily routine of meeting peopleSharad Pawar who founded the NCP in 1999 has held the post of party chief for the past 24 yearsThe veteran politician while announcing his decision said he will not contest elections and had also recommended constitution of a committee of senior NCP leaders to decide on the future course of actionThe committee will include Praful Patel Sunil Tatkare PC Chacko Narhari Zirwal Ajit Pawar Supriya Sule Jayant Patil Chhagan Bhujabl Dilip WalsePatil Anil Deshmukh Rajesh Tope Jitendra Awhad Hasan Mushrif Dhananjay Munde Jaydev Gaikwad and chiefs of party frontal cells he saidI have threeyear tenure remaining in Rajya Sabha I will not contest elections henceforth In these three years I will concentrate more on issues concerning to state and the country I will not take any additional responsibilities I started my political career on May 1 1960 Yesterday we celebrated May Day After this prolonged political career one must think about stopping somewhere One must not be greedy I will never take the position of sticking to a post after so many years Therefore you might feel uneasy But I have decided to retire from the post of the NCP chief Pawar saidSpeaking after the release of his autobiography Pawar said that it was time for a new generation to guide the party and the direction it intends to takeThe NCP leader however said that he would not take retirement from public life even after resigning from the party postEven though I am stepping down from the post of president I am not retiring from public life Constant travel has become an integral part of my life I will continue attending public events and meetings Whether in Pune Mumbai Baramati Delhi or any other part of India I will be available to all of you as usual I will continue to work round the clock to solve the peoples problems he saidMoments after senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar announced his resignation from the party presidents post Ajit Pawar supported the decision saying that the next party chief will work under Sharad Pawar onlyPawar Saheb Sharad Pawar will always be the head of the NCP family Whoever will be the new President will work only under Pawar Sahebs guidance Ajit Pawar told the party cadre who were protesting against Sharad Pawars decision urging him to withdraw itParty workers and leaders however demanded that Sharad Pawar withdraw his decisionAjit Pawar asked the party workers and leaders not to become emotionalPawar Saheb himself had said about the necessity of change in guard a few days back We should see his decision in the light of his age and health also Everyone has to take a decision according to time Pawar Saheb has decided and will not take it backAjit Pawar said the members of the committee suggested by Sharad Pawar to elect the next party President are not from outside but are from within the NCP family itselfAjit Pawar and Sharad Pawars daughter Supriya Sule along with several other party leaders held talks with protesting party workersAjit Pawar assured the protesting workers that the prominent leaders are going to meet Sharad Pawar and urged the workers to go back homeHe later said that they conveyed to Sharad Pawar that workers want him to remain the party presidentWe told him Sharad Pawar that the workers are quite upset We also told him that party workers want him to remain the party president along with having a working president He said he will rethink his decision and needs 23 days NCP leader Ajit Pawar told reporters as he held talks with protesting party workers in MumbaiThe development has come amid some recent reports that Ajit Pawar may be warming up to BJP amid his ambitions to be chief minister Ajit Pawar a former state Deputy Chief Minister has denied these reportsThis story has been sourced 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