Earlier in the day, the committee set up to choose the new Nationalist Congress Party chief rejected Pawar's decision to step down. "The committee has unanimously passed a resolution. It unanimously rejects his decision to step down and urges him to continue as party president," Patel said after a meeting of the committee. Pawar himself had set up the committee, including Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal, after he announced on May 2 that he would be resigning as NCP chief.
