PUNE: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has given the responsibility of the city unit to Chetan Tupe, who is currently the Opposition leader in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

He replaced Vandana Chavan, who is also an MP. A few months ago, NCP senior leader Ajit Pawar had announced that a new city unit chief would be named. On Tuesday, party State unit president Jayant Patil appointed Tupe as the new city unit chief. Patil made the announcement in Mumbai.

Addressing the media, Tupe said, "I have accepted the responsibility given to me. I will try my best to expand my party's base across the city and work hard to fulfil the party's expectations. It is a challenge for me."

Tupe is the son of the late senior Congress leader and former MP Vitthal Tupe, who had won from the Pune Lok Sabha constituency on a Congress ticket but later joined the NCP after Sharad Pawar left the Congress.

Vandana Chavan became the party's city unit chief in 2010. In the 2017 civic polls, however, the party didn't succeed in coming to power in the PMC. Later, there was demand from party corporators to replace Chavan.