The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) announced on Tuesday that it suspended all existing appointments to the post of party spokesperson with immediate effect. The party named former MLA Vidya Chavan and Mahesh Tapase as its only authorised spokespersons until further orders.
The announcement was made through an official letter shared on X. "With the approval of the party's state president and former minister Shashikant Shinde, effective immediately from today, August 4, 2026, all previous appointments to the position of party spokesperson are hereby cancelled until further orders," the letter said.
It further stated, "During this period, former MLA Vidya Chavan and Mahesh Tapase will represent the party's official stand before the media as the authorised spokespersons. All concerned are requested to take note."
The organisational reshuffle comes amid renewed speculation over possible political realignments in Maharashtra following recent meetings involving leaders from both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party and members of the ruling alliance.
Rumours of a possible alliance between the Sharad Pawar-led faction and the NDA gained momentum after late-night meetings in Mumbai involving NCP (SCP) leader Jayant Patil, NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to an NDTV report.
The rumours had also intensified after NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on July 22 during the Monsoon Session, though the party has denied that the meeting signalled any change in its political stance.
However, the Sharad Pawar-led party maintained that the meetings were held for administrative discussions and were not related to any political realignment. NCP (SCP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule has repeatedly dismissed speculation that the party is preparing to join the NDA.
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