MUMBAI, May 22 -- Battle lines are now firmly drawn within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), with senior leaders pushing for a restructuring of the party's national working committee (NWC). The party's highest decision-making body, the committee is currently dominated by loyalists of NCP president and deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar and her son Parth. At a core committee meeting on Monday, senior leaders demanded the restoration of their positions in the national working committee. They also urged Pawar to reinstate Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde and Anil Patil, while seeking the removal of Subodh Mohite, national general secretary, and Sanjay Prajapati, national secretary, according to party insiders. Both Mohite and Prajapati are close to Parth, and their names were added to the recently released list of NWC office-bearers. The push by senior leaders marks a turning point in a widening rift in the NCP, which began to fracture after the death of NCP chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. Sunetra stepped into his shoes and was unanimously appointed NCP national president on February 26. Differences within the NCP soon surfaced but this is the first time senior leaders have questioned key appointments made by Pawar in an attempt to influence key organisational decisions. Factional tensions escalated after the Election Commission of India (ECI) uploaded a revised list of the NCP's NWC office-bearers on May 11. Senior leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare were no longer identified as national working president and state president, respectively. Instead, Patel was listed as the NCP's leader in the Rajya Sabha, while Tatkare was named the party's leader in the Lok Sabha. To contain the damage, the party clarified that Patel would continue to serve as national working president, while Tatkare would remain the party's state chief. During the core committee meeting, both leaders demanded that their positions be formally restored in the NWC list; a mere announcement is not enough, said an NCP insider. They also said party leaders such as Mushrif and Munde have made significant contributions to the NCP and must be included in the NWC. Being core committee members was not enough, they said. The leaders also pressed for the inclusion of Anil Patil, pointing out that he had not been accommodated in the state cabinet. Senior leaders questioned the appointment of former MP Subodh Mohite and Sanjay Prajapati, seeking clarity on their contributions to the party. They stressed that seniority and organisational experience should be key criteria while making appointments to the NWC, another senior leader disclosed. Addressing the media in New Delhi, Tatkare said, "The issue over the designations will be resolved within the next four to five days. Sunetra Vahini (Pawar), as the national president, had already made a post on the matter. Subsequently, we also held discussions and took decisions regarding the future course. Procedural changes take some time, but the party is now working in a united manner." Tatkare said Sunetra Pawar, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dilip Walse-Patil, Dhananjay Munde and Parth Pawar were present at the meeting. "We sat together, discussed the matter and resolved the issues. There is no longer any doubt," he said, adding that a revised list of NWC members would be sent to the ECI. In response to a question, Tatkare said there is no reason to complain against Parth Pawar. "Both Parth and Jay (Pawar's younger son) entered active politics following the death of Ajit Dada. They were associated with the party earlier as well, but became more active after his accidental death. They represent the younger leadership of the party, and there is no reason for any complaints against them," he remarked. This is the first upheaval within the NCP since Pawar took over the reins. In her first communication to the ECI, she declared a list of 14 NWC office-bearers on March 10. Then, on April 29, she submitted a revised list, triggering a storm within the party. The revised list, which had omitted mentioning Patel and Tatkare's designations in the party, consists of 22 members. Among them are Parth and Jay, listed as national general secretary and national secretary, respectively. The list also comprises relatively junior leaders, a move that has caused resentment among senior leaders. The current NWC is much larger than the previous committee, which had only nine members. Among them was Ajit Pawar, national president....