Pune: Six Months After Rupali Chakankar’s Resignation, NCP Appoints Vaishali Nagwade Women’s Chief

Pune, 5th August 2026: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday appointed Vaishali Nagwade as the Maharashtra president of its women’s wing and Nikhil Thackeray as the state youth wing president.

The appointment letters were handed over by NCP national president and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar at Devgiri bungalow. The appointments were made with the approval of state NCP president and MP Sunil Tatkare.

Nagwade, a native of Khamgaon in Daund taluka of Pune district, succeeds Rupali Chakankar, whose resignation had left the post vacant for the past six months. Chakankar was forced to resign after her connection with the godman Ashok Kharat surfaced soon after he was arrested in Nashik.

A long-time party functionary, Nagwade has held several organisational and administrative positions, including director of Mahananda, chairperson of the Maharashtra Panchayat Raj Women’s Committee, president of the NCP’s Pune district unit, and the first woman chairperson of Mahananda. She has also served as a director of the National Dairy Development Board and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute.

After receiving the appointment letter, Nagwade and Thackeray paid tributes to the late Ajit Pawar by placing their appointment letters before his portrait at the party’s state office.

Speaking on the occasion, Nagwade said the demise of Ajit Pawar had left party workers and supporters feeling orphaned, and that it was their responsibility to carry forward his ideology. She said she would work to strengthen the organisation and expand the party’s reach at the grassroots under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar and MP Parth Pawar.