Praful Patel skips NCP meeting at Sunetra’s residence | Mumbai News

May 26, 2026 Headlinesnews

2 min readMumbaiMay 27, 2026 01:32 AM IST

In what is seen as a continuation of the ongoing crisis within the NCP, party’s national working president Praful Patel did not attend the party meeting on Tuesday evening. According to sources close to Patel, the Rajya Sabha MP was in Mumbai but did not attend the meeting held at Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar’s official residence Devgiri.

During the meeting, sources said the party’s state unit chief Sunil Tatkare expressed displeasure over he and Patel being criticised in the media and nobody from the NCP coming forward to extend support, including senior ministers.

NCP’s seniormost minister Chhagan Bhujbal reportedly suggested moving forward, which reportedly irked Tatkare leading to an exchange of words between the top leadership of the party.

Meanwhile, Sunetra on Tuesday asked party ministers, legislators and officebearers to take the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) seriously and called for greater participation to ensure no eligible voters were skipped from the electoral rolls. She has asked party leaders to make immediate appointments of Booth Level Agents (BLA) in all 288 assembly constituencies. Pawar said this was an opportunity to strengthen the party organisation at all levels.

“Our party president has asked us to work on a war-footing during June 30 to July 29, when door-to-door enumeration process will begin,” said a senior party leader who was present at the meeting. Senior party ministers shared the list of initiatives taken for the implementation of SIR in their respective constituencies.

As part of the SIR exercise, details of around 9.68 crore voters in Maharashtra will be physically verified through 1,00,253 booth-level officers (BLOs), with assistance from BLAs appointed by political parties. As per the information, BJP is leading the appointment of BLAs with 52115. BJP is followed by Shiv Sena (17800), Congress (17421), Shiv Sena – UBT (10140), NCP (6472), NCP-SP (4468) and MNS (3848).

As per the details, the majority of BLAs appointed by the NCP are from Ahilyanagar (1431), Pune (756), Gondiya (689), Jalgaon (582), Sangli (480), Thane (362), Yavatmal (361), Nanded (353) among others. The party chief has asked to increase the appointments in other districts.

Alok Deshpande is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau, recognized for his focused and authoritative reporting on governance, politics, and the socio-economic dynamics of Maharashtra’s hinterlands. His unique academic background in Geology and early work in the water sector provides a specialized layer of Expertise to his reporting on resource and environmental issues.
Expertise

Current Role: Special Correspondent, The Indian Express, Mumbai.

Core Authority: Alok provides detailed coverage of Maharashtra politics and governance, with a particular emphasis on how policies and power struggles affect the rural and semi-urban areas (the ‘hinterlands’).

Key Coverage Areas: His reports frequently focus on high-stakes administrative and political topics, including:

State Assembly Proceedings: In-depth reporting on the Legislative Assembly, covering ministerial statements, legislative debates, and inter-party conflict within the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

Policy & Finance: Coverage of state finances, including supplementary budget demands, fiscal deficits, and major government schemes (e.g., Jal Jeevan Mission, Ladki Bahin Yojana).

Rural and Social Issues: Reports on critical health issues (e.g., child deaths in districts), human-animal conflict (leopard attacks, stray dogs), and agrarian concerns (e.g., farmer suicides).

Local and Urban Governance: Covers major announcements regarding urban development (e.g., BMC’s OC amnesty scheme, pagdi system push) and local body elections, including political defections and alliance splits.

Unique Credentials & Trustworthiness

Academic Specialization: Holds a Post-graduate degree in Geology. This background gives him a foundational understanding of natural resources, which directly informs his reporting on environment, water, and infrastructure projects.

Early Professional Experience: His shift to journalism came after working with an NGO focused on the water sector. This practical experience strengthens his Expertise in critical areas like water management and rural development, as evidenced by his reporting on the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Journalism Training: An alumnus of the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, confirming his formal training and commitment to rigorous journalistic standards.

Alok Deshpande’s rare combination of scientific education, non-profit sector experience, and deep political reporting makes him a highly trusted and authoritative voice on the governance and ground realities of Maharashtra.
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