New Delhi. Ajit Pawar faction leader Praful Patel has resigned from the membership of Rajya Sabha. According to a notification issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Praful Patel, representing the state of Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha, has tendered his resignation from the membership of the Rajya Sabha. His resignation was accepted by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on February 27, 2024. Prafulla Patel was elected unopposed as a Rajya Sabha member on 20 February as a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate.
After his resignation, Praful Patel said on social media, “I was elected as Rajya Sabha MP for the term 2022-2028. I have resigned from Rajya Sabha membership after my balanced tenure of four years because I have been elected to it.” Rajya Sabha for a new term effective from 2024 to 2030. Therefore, I will remain a member of the prestigious House till 2030.”
Prafulla Patel is considered very close to Ajit Pawar and his decision to resign comes amid political developments within the NCP. When Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle Sharad Pawar, Prafulla Patel also joined Ajit Pawar. He is also the working president of NCP and has previously been a minister in the central government.
Apart from Praful Patel, Ashok Chavan and Megha Kulkarni from BJP, Chandrakant Handore from Congress and Milind Deora from Shiv Sena were elected unopposed from Maharashtra in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.