Maharashtra Elections 2024: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar hints at retirement, says 'time to prepare for future'

By Shweta Kumari | First Published Nov 5, 2024, 1:44 PM IST

Veteran politician and the president of NCP (SP), Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday hinted that he may step away from Parliamentary politics.

Veteran politician and the president of NCP (SP), Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday hinted that he may step away from Parliamentary politics. Addressing a gathering in Baramati ahead of the Maharashtra assembly election in 2024, Sharad Pawar revealed that his current term in the Rajya Sabha has a year and a half remaining, and he will decide on whether to seek another term once this one concludes.

'Fought 14 elections, you have not sent home even once. We have to think about whether to go to the Rajya Sabha again or not,' Sharad Pawar said adding, 'now new people should get elected'.

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Sharad Pawar (84) also acknowledged Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's contribution to Baramati but asserted that the region needs a new leadership for its development for the next three decades.

Pawar senior was campaigning for grandnephew NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar, who will take on his uncle Ajit Pawar, in the November 20 assembly polls. Yugendra Pawar is the son of Ajit Pawar's younger brother Srinivas Pawar.

Also read: Maharashtra Elections 2024: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange withdraws from polls

"You have made me the chief minister not once or twice but four times. You elected me in 1967, and I worked here for 25 years before moving on to work for Maharashtra. I handed over all local powers to Ajit dada, entrusting him with all decisions, to plan for programmes and elections for local bodies, sugar and milk bodies," Pawar said, news agency PTI reported.

He said Ajit Pawar worked in the region for 25 to 30 years, and there was no doubt about the work he did.

"Now, it's time to prepare for the future. We need to groom leadership that will work for the next 30 years," the former union minister said, adding that everyone should get an opportunity and he has never held anyone back.

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