NCP appoints Prabhakar Sawant as its Mah Unit Organising Sec

Thane, Jul 5 (UNI) Prabhakar Sawant, who had recently joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has been appointed as its Maharashtra State Unit Organising Secretary.

Mr Sawant, former president of the BJP Thane City-District Unit had quit the party following ''constant humiliation'' by the local BJP leaders and ''total failure'' of its state unit in taking care of the party affairs at Thane District Unit. He then joined the NCP.

Thane, with 24 assembly segments, would be deciding the fate of political parties as well as the state in the forthcoming general elections. Therefore, the NCP has placed Mr Sawant at this post as the party wants to consolidate its position in the state. Mr Sawant, who has served as BJP office bearer for a long time, would have strong grip over the district affairs and his experience is expected to come handy for the party to secure seats here.

Talking to UNI after his appointment, Mr Sawant thanked NCP president Sharad Pawar and also State Unit Chief Arun Gujarathi for his selection at the important post, and assured that he would serve to the expectations of the party and its leaders.

He said that his three-decade long political experience, which he gained from the BJP leaders would come in handy in discharging his responsibility and gain victory for NCP in the coming elections. He declared that he would co-operate well with the other party workers.

Mr Sawant is not the first ex-member of the BJP who has been selected for an important position in the NCP, there are several others listed in the past. A senior BJP leader from Thane, Om Prakash Sharma, had quit from the party's important positions under similar circumstances and joined the NCP, where he was also posted as the Organising Secretary of the party. During his tenure, Mr Sharma worked hard for the party, but had to quit the NCP and rejoined the BJP because he was ''isolated.'' In another similar case, Satish Pradhan, the first mayor of Thane city and a senior Shiv Sena leader, had also walked out of the Sena and joined the NCP. He later switched over to Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS).

However, Mr Sawant is sure to survive in the NCP at least till the coming general elections, when the party would make the most of him.

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