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Following hours of unrest in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over his decision to resign as the party chief, veteran leader Sharad Pawar said that he "needs 2-3 days to rethink his decision."
In a shock to party cadre, Sharad Pawar on Tuesday, 2 May, unexpectedly announced his resignation as the party president, stating that "it's time for the new generation to guide the party and the direction it intends to take."
The decision by Pawar came after NCP leaders and workers launched massive protests in Mumbai and other parts of the state to urge him to withdraw his resignation.
(Photo: PTI)
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar with his wife and party leaders during a book launch event in Mumbai on Tuesday, 2 May.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar and other party leaders during a book launch event in Mumbai on Tuesday, 2 May.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar with his wife and party leader Ajit Pawar during a book launch event in Mumbai on Tuesday, 2 May.
In this photo dated 25 April 2023, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar during an event in Mumbai.
Addressing the party cadre at the Yashwantrao Chavan Foundation in Mumbai, Sharad Pawar spoke about his political career spanning over six decades.
Sharad Pawar also recommended the formation of a committee to decide on the election to fill the vacancy of the president's post.
Listing the multiple offices he has held during this time, Pawar added, "During this long tenure, I have been entrusted with multiple responsibilities such as ministerial posts in various departments in the state government; Leader of Opposition in the State Legislature; a four-time Chief Minister of Maharashtra; India's Defence Minister; Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and India's Agriculture Minister during the UPA government."
The following names were proposed by Pawar to constitute the said committee: Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, K.K. Sharma, PC Chacko, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Supriya Sule, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope, Jitendra Awhad, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Jaydev Gaikwad, Fauzia Khan, Dheeraj Sharma, Sonia Duhan, and presidents of Nationalist Youth Congress and Nationalist Students' Congress.
In a show of hands, NCP leaders present at the press conference that was being addressed by Sharad Pawar, refused to accept the latter's resignation. "We do not accept saheb’s decision," they said as many were spotted to be in tears on stage.
Responding to the demands of the party leaders and workers, Sharad Pawar said: "I am just quitting from the post, not stepping away from my people."
NCP leader Praful Patel, too, urged the cadre to be patient after they refused to leave the venue till Sharad Pawar changed his decision.
At the end of the press conference, Ajit Pawar assured that he and other senior party members will talk to Sharad Pawar about reconsidering his decision.
"We have listened to everyone. I request all of you, let Saheb go home. We will try and convince him and try and find a way that you all want," he said.
Hundreds of cadre could be seen sloganeering outside the residence.
In protest against Pawar's resignation, the NCP chiefs of Dharashiv and Buldana resigned from their posts.
Addressing the media, party leaders Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Rohit Pawar, and Chhaggan Bhujbal said that the party chief was "pained to see the protests by the cadre."
"As an alternative, we have suggested that he remains the party chief and appoints a 'Working President' to work under his guidance," he said.
Sharad Pawar also urged supporters to stop protests and go home, otherwise he will not change his decision, Ajit Pawar said.
Bhujbal said that Sharad Pawar understood that his decision came as a shock to the supporters across the state.
Responding to the developments, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut tweeted to say that Sharad Pawar was a victim of "dirty politics" just like Bal Thackeray was.
BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said: "This is the NCP's internal matter. We will comment later after concrete developments."
"This is a personal choice of Sharad Pawar and an internal matter of the NCP. There is a lot of discussion and brainstorming going on. It is not appropriate for me to talk about it at this moment. We are monitoring the situation. We will talk about it at the right time," he said.
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Published: 02 May 2023,01:15 PM IST