Mr Pawar cited increased responsibility in the party as one of the reasons for resigning.

Pune:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has resigned as a director of the Pune District Central Cooperative (PDCC) Bank, said a statement released by the bank on Tuesday.

Mr Pawar decided to step down as a director citing increase in the workload after becoming deputy chief minister and increased responsibility in his party, said the bank’s chairman Dr Digambar Durgade.

The Nationalist Congress Party leader was a director of the bank since 1991, and under his leadership, it made remarkable progress and became the number one bank in the cooperative sector in the country, the bank said in the statement.

When Mr Pawar became a director, the bank’s turnover was Rs 558 crore and now it stands at Rs 20,714 crore, it said.

Ajit Pawar had split the NCP headed by Sharad Pawar in July this year when he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state.

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