Mumbai, TNI Bureau:  Senior politician and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar, has announced his resignation as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Pawar, who is considered one of India’s top Opposition leaders, played a significant role in forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, a coalition of the Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP.

“I am resigning from the post of the national president of NCP,” Pawar announced on Monday, May 2nd. He has served as the chief minister of Maharashtra for four terms and held key positions in the Cabinets of former Prime Ministers P.V Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, including Minister of Defence and Minister of Agriculture, respectively.

Pawar was the first president of the NCP, which he founded in 1999 after separating from the Indian National Congress. His resignation from the party leadership has raised speculation about the future of the NCP and its role in the Opposition alliance.

There has been no announcement yet on who will succeed Pawar as the president of the NCP.