Before voting in the Maharashtra assembly elections, NCP founder Sharad Pawar indicated that he was retiring from electoral politics. Pawar said he would not contest elections again, but would continue to look after the work of the party organization. This means that he will continue to serve as the head of the NCP (SP).
Sharad Pawar, 84, said in Baramati on Tuesday: “We will have to stop somewhere. I don’t want to run for office now. Now new people should come forward. So far, I have participated in elections 14 times. Now I don’t want power anymore. I want to work for society. I will think whether I should go to Rajya Sabha or not.
Sharad Pawar started his political career in 1960. In 1960, Sharad Pawar started his political career in Congress. In 1960, Congress leader Keshavrao Jedhe died and the Baramati Lok Sabha seat fell vacant. In the by-election, the Peasants and Workers Party of India i.e. PWP gave ticket to Sharad’s elder brother Basantrao Pawar while Congress fielded Gulabrao Jedhe.
At that time, YB Chavan was the CM of Maharashtra. He had made the siege of Baramati a question of credibility. Sharad writes in his book ‘On My Own Terms’ that my brother was contesting against the Congress. Everyone was wondering what I would do? It was a very difficult situation.
Brother Basantrao understood my problem. He called me and said, “You are dedicated to the ideology of the Congress. Feel free to campaign against me. After that, I devoted my life to the Congress election campaign and Gulabrao Jedhe won. At just 27 years old, Sharad Pawar became an MP from Baramati Assembly constituency in 1967. Sharad Pawar has won 14 elections in the last five decades.
My nephew rebelled as soon as his daughter was named party president. After a long period in public life from May 1, 1960 to May 1, 2023, I now have to take a break. This is why I decided to step down as Chairman of the Nationalist Congress Party.
Sharad Pawar said this on May 2, 2023 at the YB Chavan Center in Mumbai. As soon as Sharad Pawar said this, senior leaders like NCP state president Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad became emotional. The leaders and workers went on strike at the YB Chavan Center itself.
Ajit Pawar took the stage and said that Sharad Pawar would reconsider his decision to resign. About a month later, on June 10, Sharad Pawar named his daughter Supriya Sule and Praful Patel the new working presidents of the party. Ajit Pawar got angry with this decision of Sharad.
Exactly 2 months later, on July 2, 2023, Ajit Pawar rebelled against his NCP party with 8 MLAs. Ajit Pawar, who became deputy CM in the Shinde government, claimed the NCP. The NCP party, formed 29 years ago, is on the verge of collapse. Ajit Pawar claimed to have the support of more than 40 MPs. The Election Commission declared on February 6, 2024 that the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP.
After 10 hearings lasting 6 months, the party name and electoral symbol were handed over to the Ghadi Ajit faction. After this, the Commission nominated NCP Sharad Chandra Pawar for Sharad Pawar’s faction. The electoral symbol of this party is the trumpet. So when the NCP party split into two, the leadership of both parties remained in the hands of the Pawar family.