NCP-SP appoints Shashikant Shinde as new State president, succeeding Jayant Patil

Nationalist Congress Party- (Sharadchandra Pawar) appointed MLC Shashikant Shinde as the new State president on Tuesday (July 15, 2025), following the resignation of former Minister and MLA Jayant Patil from the position after serving for seven years.

After the appointment, expressing his gratitude, he vowed to strengthen the party and make efforts to bring the party to power. “We will create awareness among the people about how the government is using the system. Within a month, the party will expand, motivating people to join the party,” said former Minister Mr. Shinde.

NCP-SP Supremo Sharad Pawar announced Mr. Shinde’s appointment at a party’s State executive meeting at the Y.B. Chavan Centre in Mumbai in the presence of prominent leaders from the party, including Jayant Patil, former Minister Anil Deshmukh, Kalwa legislator Jitendra Awhad, and Harshvardhan Patil.

After the poor performance at the 2024 Assembly elections, Mr. Patil expressed his desire to resign and hand over to a new leader. Over the past few days, the resignation of Jayant Patil, who stayed back with Sharad Pawar’s NCP after the split in 2023 and the appointment of Shashikant Shinde was speculated. Mr. Shinde’s name has been announced ahead of the upcoming local body elections in the State, aiming to yield good results for the party.

Referring to the vacuum in Maharashtra’s politics, the 62-year-old Mr. Shinde said, “Currently, space is there for Opposition. If we try to fill this space, people will relate and stand with us.”

Mr. Shinde also highlighted that politics have changed; earlier, the government changed when the opposition raised public concerns, now the government is changing using the resources and system of government.

A commerce graduate and popularly known as the Mathadi workers’ leader, he began his political career in 1999, winning the Jaoli Assembly elections and later serving as Water Resources Minister.

Resignation of Jayant Patil

“This is not the end, it is the beginning of a new era,” Jayant Patil expressed his feelings through poetry. After offering his resignation, Mr. Patil touched on his tenure and the party’s journey of providing opportunities to people from ordinary families, shattering the nepotism.

“The party broke the norms and gave opportunities to young people, including Mehboob Sheikh, Sakshana Salgar, and Sunil Gavane. Sharad Pawar gave strength to people who started from zero and gave them strength. I have been president for the last seven years; otherwise, I have been working in this party for the last 25 years. It is the right time to make way for others to take this opportunity,” he added

Mr. Patil reflected on the 2024 Assembly elections and stated that the match had been fixed Umpire. Reflecting on the government’s policy, he said, “We have a big challenge to preserve the Swarajya created by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The State has been subjected to religious fanaticism and corruption on the pretext of development. The atrocities against women have increased, while farmers are in a dreadful situation. The government is proving incapable of keeping its promises.”