Praful Patel resigns from Rajya Sabha ahead of fresh full term

NCP leader Praful Patel has resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha after being re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament earlier this month.

Patel, who had four years left in his fifth term, was fielded in the Rajya Sabha elections as he was facing a disqualification petition filed by the NCP's Sharad Pawar-led faction.

"Shri Praful Patel, an elected Member of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), representing the State of Maharashtra, resigned his seat in the Rajya Sabha and his resignation has been accepted by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, wef the 27th of February, 2024," a Rajya Sabha bulletin said on Tuesday.

Patel, who has aligned himself with Ajit Pawar in the NCP's factional fight, was elected to the Rajya Sabha for a fifth term in July 2022.

In a post on X, Patel said, "I was elected as the Rajya Sabha MP for the tenure of 2022-2028. I have resigned from my four-year balanced old term of Rajya Sabha membership as I have been elected on Rajya Sabha for a new term, which will be effective from 2024 to 2030." "Hence, I continue to be the member of the August House till 2030," he added.

The NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar, the new name of the Sharad Pawar-led group, had filed a disqualification petition against Patel under Section 2(a) of the Tenth Schedule, which provides for disqualification on grounds of defection.

The acceptance of Patel's resignation from the Rajya Sabha will pave the way for him to start a fresh term in the Upper House in place of Vandana Chavan, who completes her tenure in April.

Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, walked out of the NCP with a majority of party MLAs last July and was sworn in as a deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government.

Recently, the Election Commission recognised the Ajit Pawar group as the real NCP and allotted the party's 'clock' election symbol to it. Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has also recognised the Ajit Pawar-led group as the real NCP. The Election Commission will now have to call for a bypoll to fill the vacancy created by Patel's resignation.