Nationalist Congress Party patriarch Sharad Pawar set the political circles of the nation buzzing on Tuesday with a hint about his possible retirement. He said he does not want to become an MLA or MP, essentially declaring that he would not be part of any electoral fray from now on.
Hinting at retirement, NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar said, “I will have to stop somewhere… I do not want to contest any election now. I will have to stop contesting elections and new people will have to come forward.”
“I have contested 14 elections; I am not going to contest any more elections,” he said. “I do not want to become an MLA or an MP now… I want to solve people’s problems. If a government of our ideas and ideology comes to power, we shall stand by it.”
Earlier this year, his nephew Ajit Pawar, who rebelled against him stacked him saying he should stay at home.
Ajit Pawar said the 84-year-old former Union Minister and veteran leader of Maharashtra politics should stay at home, no one knows when he will retire. Sharad Pawar retaliated, saying: “Ajit Pawar repeatedly gives statements about my age. There is still time left in my Rajya Sabha term. I will serve till then. After that, I will not contest any election.”
(This is a developing story and will be updated.)