‘Will have to stop somewhere’: NCP founder Sharad Pawar hints at quitting parliamentary politics
We need to groom leadership that will work for the next 30 years, the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar on Tuesday hinted at retiring from parliamentary politics, saying that he was considering not contesting any elections in the future and instead focusing on mentoring the younger generation, India Today reported.
The 83-year-old made the remarks while campaigning for his grandnephew, Yugendra Pawar, who is the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)’s candidate from the Baramati constituency in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
“I have contested 14 times [from Baramati],” Sharad Pawar told a gathering in the Supe village in the constituency on Tuesday, according to India Today. “You did not send me home even once. You elected me every time. But I will have to stop somewhere.”
He added: “I will have to bring the new generation forward….This does not mean that I have left social work. But I do not want power. I will keep serving and working for the people.”
Sharad Pawar noted that there was still one-and-a half years for his term as a Rajya Sabha MP to end. “[After that] I will have to think about whether to go to Rajya Sabha or not,” he said. “I will not contest Lok Sabha. I will not contest any election.”
The people of Baramati “made me the chief minister not once or twice but four times”, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief said, India Today reported. “You elected me in 1967, and I worked here for 25 years before moving on to work for Maharashtra.”
Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will take place in a single phase on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23, alongside that of the Jharkhand elections.
The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) has fielded Yugendra Pawar against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is Sharad Pawar’s nephew. The NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar joined the ruling Mahayuti alliance in 2023.
The Mahayuti alliance also comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction.
Sharad Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party is part of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, which also includes the Congress and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena group.