Is The NCP Facing Its First Succession Crisis After Ajit Pawar? The Sunetra Pawar Row Explained

On January 28, 2026, a plane crash killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar. He had been, for two and a half years since his July 2023 split from Sharad Pawar's NCP, the indispensable figure in the Maharashtra government's Mahayuti coalition — the man who held ministerial leverage, controlled the party's organisational machinery, and maintained the institutional relationships that kept the Ajit Pawar NCP a coherent political force.

His death left a vacuum with no obvious single successor. It was agreed that National Working President Praful Patel would temporarily officiate as the National President following Ajit Pawar's passing. What happened next is now the subject of a formal legal notice demanding the entire presidential election be thrown out.

Why Has Sunetra Pawar's Election Been Challenged?

The notice, issued on July 9 by NCP national secretary Sachchidanand Singh, claimed that the election held on February 26 was unconstitutional and liable to be declared 'null, void and non-est.' It was addressed to Sunetra Pawar, national working president Praful Patel, and general secretary Brijmohan Shrivastav.

Singh's central complaint is procedural. The day after Patel was designated as acting president with full presidential powers, General Secretary Brijmohan Shrivastav independently passed a resolution calling for a 'National Convention' and initiating an election process to choose a permanent party president. Singh's position is that only Praful Patel, as the constitutionally designated officiating head, had the authority to convene a national convention or initiate a presidential election. A general secretary does not possess that mandate under the NCP constitution.

What Does The Legal Notice Allege?

The notice makes several specific claims: that the General Secretary exceeded his authority in convening the convention; that Praful Patel, as the constitutionally correct officiant, was effectively bypassed; that mandatory notice periods and delegate communication requirements were not observed, and that there was no credible process to ensure a constitutional election occurred at all.

The demand is equally specific: the entire election process should be declared 'illegal, non est (non-existent), and void,' and a fresh election should be held with proper constitutional safeguards. The notice gives the NCP leadership 15 days to comply, failing which Singh has reserved the right to initiate further legal proceedings.

NCP spokesperson Suraj Chavan rejected the notice, he told India Today that Singh was present at the national convention on February 26 and voted for Sunetra Pawar's election by raising his hand, and that all rules had been followed. The party's position is that Sunetra's election was valid, unanimous, and properly constituted. If Singh was present and participated, his legal challenge raises questions about whether he accepted the result at the time and is now contesting it for other reasons.

Why Has Praful Patel Called For 'Corrective Measures'?

Praful Patel's position in the legal notice is particularly interesting. He is one of the three addressees — meaning he is being formally asked by a party member to acknowledge that the election process was constitutionally deficient and to take corrective action. Singh's notice is premised on the argument that Patel himself was bypassed in the process: that the general secretary acted without Patel's authorisation in calling the convention.

Amidst all this, Patel has publicly called for ‘corrective measures’ to be taken within the party to fill the vacuum left by Ajit Pawar’s death. The statement in context with the legal actions being undertaken by Singh lends Patel a non-committal position in the dispute. He has not openly gone against the party leadership without refuting that there are problems within the party that need to be sorted out.   

As one of the most important powerbrokers left in the party, Patel’s future course of action will be keenly observed by people aiming to judge which way the wind is blowing.

Does This Expose Deeper Divisions Within The NCP?

The NCP is a party that has already split once, when Ajit Pawar took the majority of its MLAs and joined the Maharashtra government, leaving Sharad Pawar with the NCP (SP) rump. Ajit Pawar's death triggered the next phase of consolidation, one that the February 26 convention was meant to settle cleanly by installing Sunetra as president and Parth Pawar — Ajit and Sunetra's son — on the Rajya Sabha path.The legal notice disrupts that clean settlement.

Sachchidanand Singh is a national secretary, not a peripheral figure, and his challenge signals that not everyone within the party accepted the pace and process of the February transition without reservation. A contested party presidency adds institutional uncertainty to an already demanding political moment.

How Important Is Leadership Succession For Regional Parties?

Regional parties built around a dominant personality, as they usually are, face a structural problem when that personality is gone. The NCP was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999 after he was expelled from the Congress. The Ajit faction of NCP became, effectively, a party built around Ajit Pawar's relationship with the Mahayuti coalition. Without him, the bonds that held the faction together are tested.

The Shiv Sena split of 2022 showed what happens when institutional questions about legitimacy are left unresolved — the result was an Election Commission battle over the bow-and-arrow symbol, a Supreme Court intervention, and a political civil war that continues today. The NCP faces a different but comparable moment.

If the legal challenge escalate, the party would be entering territory that the Shiv Sena precedent has shown to be politically destructive regardless of how it resolves. The next 15 days — and Patel's response — will determine whether this stays an internal party matter or becomes something considerably messier.