india

Updated: Aug 05, 2019 16:25 IST

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday appointed senior leader Nawab Malik as new president of Mumbai unit of the party a week after Sachin Ahir switched sides and joined the Shiv Sena.

A former minister, Malik is currently chief spokesperson of NCP. He was the frontrunner for the position. “With approval of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Nawab Malik has been appointed as the new Mumbai NCP president,” declared state NCP chief Jayant Patil on Monday.

“There were other names such as Majeed Memon and Vidya Chavan being considered but Malik was selected,” said a senior leader wishing not to be named.

Malik is a four-term MLA from Mumbai. He was labour minister before resigning from the position in 2013 following allegations of intervening into a housing redevelopment project made by activist Anna Hazare.

Recently, Ahir and three MLAs — Jaydutt Kshirsagar, Pandurang Barora and Vaibhav Pichad resigned from the party. Apart from them, former minister Madhukar Pichad, state women president Chitra Wagh too have left NCP.