The assembly elections in Maharashtra are seeing a high level of activity as they approach. In the meantime, Sharad Pawar, the founder of the Nationalist Congress Party, suggested on Tuesday that he may be considering retiring from politics. 83-year-old Pawar stated his intention to not run for elections once his Rajya Sabha term concludes in 18 months. Hence, there are rumors circulating regarding Sharad Pawar’s possible retirement post the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Sharad Pawar, a seasoned political figure who established the NCP in 1999, delivered a significant announcement on Tuesday in Baramati, his ancestral stronghold in western Maharashtra. A direct competition between grandson Yugendra Pawar and nephew Ajit Pawar will take place in Baramati on November 20.
Sharad Pawar mentioned that he is not currently in a position of authority and still has a year and a half remaining in his term in the Rajya Sabha. Following that, I will no longer participate in any future elections. I will need to find a stopping point… While this was happening, Sharad Pawar expressed his gratitude to the voters of Baramati for electing him as both MP and MLA a total of 14 times.
Last year, NCP leader Sharad Pawar initially declared his retirement, but he ultimately reversed his decision after being convinced by NCP members and employees who protested.
On May 2, 2023, Sharad Pawar declared his resignation from the position of NCP’s president at the launch of his updated autobiography at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai. At that moment, Pawar’s wife Pratibha Pawar, daughter Supriya Sule, and nephew Ajit Pawar were also in attendance.
During this event, key NCP figures such as Jayant Patil, Prafulla Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare, Jitendra Awhad and Dhananjay Munde were in attendance along with other senior leaders. After Sharad Pawar announced his retirement from politics, his supporters were highly emotional and demanded that he revoke his decision. They staged a sit-in protest until Pawar finally retracted his resignation a few days later.
Earlier, during a speech to the youth wing of the party, he had mentioned that he was advised to flip the roti at the correct moment. If left unturned, it will taste bitter when eaten.
In July 2023, only two months later, Ajit Pawar and multiple NCP members switched to the Shiv Sena-BJP government led by Eknath Shinde in the state, causing a division within the party established by Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Pawar, the leader of NCP, is running for the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district in the upcoming state assembly elections scheduled for November 20th. Ajit is in competition with his nephew and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Yugendra Pawar. On October 28, when Yugendra submitted his nomination papers for this seat, he was accompanied by Sharad Pawar and his MP daughter Supriya Sule. Sule represents the Baramati constituency as a Member of Parliament. She is the daughter of Sharad Pawar and the cousin of Ajit.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections in Baramati, the traditional stronghold of the Pawar family, a competitive race took place between Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar and her sister-in-law Supriya Sule. Nevertheless, Sunetra was defeated.