Sharad Pawar hints at retirement from parliamentary politics: ‘Will have to think whether…’

Sharad Pawar, president, Nationalist Congress Party (SP). (PTI Photo/File)

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday suggested that he may consider retirement from parliamentary politics. He was addressing a gathering in Maharashtra’s Baramati while campaigning for his grandnephew and party candidate Yugendra Pawar who will take on his uncle Ajit Pawar in the November 20 Assembly election.

"I will have to think whether to go in Rajya Sabha again or not," said Sharad Pawar, 84, referring to his possible retirement from parliamentary politics. His current term in the Upper House ends in one and a half years.

The remarks assume significance in wake of his influence as an Opposition leader, particularly over the past decade, and emerged as a central figure in the state’s politics as well as that on the national level.

The comments are also significant in view of the upcoming Assembly elections, the first since the split in his party along with Maha Vikas Aghadi partner Shiv Sena. With the stakes high, Pawar’s remarks and his next move are being watched very closely.

"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.

A towering figure in Maharashtra’s politics who served as the Chief Minister four times, Pawar also acknowledged Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's contribution to Baramati but asserted that the region needs a new leader for its development over the next three decades.

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.

Claiming that he wasn’t asking for votes, Pawar said Baramati had never disappointed him. He also said that the elections in Baramati will be tough for the people owing to the contest within the family.

In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, Ajit Pawar fielded his wife Sunetra from the seat against his sister Supriya Sule. The latter won the seat by a comfortable margin.