NEW DELHI: At a rally in Solapur’s Madha, NCP (Sharad Pawar) supremo Sharad Pawar delivered a fiery message to his detractors, urging voters to decisively defeat those who rebelled under his nephew Ajit Pawar’s leadership. Recounting a decades-old betrayal, the 83-year-old leader underscored his resilience and the importance of standing firm against political backstabbing.
Pawar recalled an episode from 1980, when a defection within his party caused him to lose the post of Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly. “When I returned from abroad, I discovered that 52 of the 58 MLAs from my party had switched sides under then-Chief Minister AR Antulay. I lost my position as LoP,” he said.
Rather than react immediately, Pawar strategized. “For three years, I traveled across the state and worked hard. In the next elections, I fielded young candidates against all 52 defectors. The people of Maharashtra ensured that all 52 were defeated,” he stated.
Addressing the crowd, Pawar emphasized the importance of teaching defectors a lesson. “Don’t just defeat them—defeat them big,” he urged, as supporters cheered loudly, completing his paused statement with chants of his name.
The rally comes amidst heightened tensions within the NCP, which split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs aligned with the Shinde government. The Election Commission subsequently awarded Ajit Pawar’s faction the party name and ‘clock’ symbol, while Sharad Pawar’s faction was designated NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) with the ‘man blowing tutari’ symbol.
In a symbolic battle within the Pawar family, Sharad Pawar’s faction has fielded Yugendra Pawar, his grandnephew, against Ajit Pawar in Baramati. Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar also faced defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, losing to sitting MP Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter.
With Maharashtra’s political landscape in flux, Sharad Pawar’s rally set the tone for what promises to be a fierce electoral battle.