Nagpur (Maharashtra)

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil on Saturday questioned the rush to fill the Deputy Chief Minister post in Maharashtra, saying that it is not a constitutional post and had only been vacant for three days following Ajit Pawar's demise.

Patil also called the discussion around Sunetra Pawar potentially becoming Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister an "internal matter" for the NCP.

He said the party's decision-making process and outside influences remain unclear following the death of the 66-years-old Pawar.

Speaking to ANI in Nagpur, Patil said, "This is a very serious issue. Who is making the decisions? It's also important to see who was behind the scenes, influencing and forcing the decisions. There are also reports that the BJP is making decisions on behalf of the NCP, and if the family wasn't even given a chance to decide on the next step, that's also something to consider. Another important issue is where was Ajit Dada for the last two months? Who was he talking to? With whom was he discussing the distribution of tickets for the district panchayat elections? Looking at this might reveal the direction things are headed, but this is currently an internal matter for their party."

"He (Praful Patel) is the working president right now, but one thing I don't understand is that this wasn't a constitutional post (Dy CM) that couldn't be left vacant for a few days... it had only been three days. The funeral took place yesterday... what could be the reason for this haste? Only those who made this decision so quickly can answer that," he added.

Ajit Pawar had died in a plane crash along with four others on Wednesday.

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Earlier in the day, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief and Ajit Pawar's uncle, Sharad Pawar said that he has no information about NCP MP Sunetra Pawar's name being pitched for the post of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister.

He said, "I have no information about it (Sunetra Pawar's name for the Deputy CM post). Her party must have decided. What I saw in the newspaper today: some names like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatakare who have taken the initiative to make some decisions."