MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he has decided to step down as the party chief. He said he would continue to work for important issues.
The 83-year-old made the announcement at the launch of his revised version of the autobiography ‘On My Terms.'
His announcement was met with protests by party workers and leaders who asked the octogenarian leader to rescind the decision.
Pawar told his emotional workers opposing his resignation, "I am with you, but not as NCP chief."
The move comes at a time when Pawar is seen as a pole to tie opposition parties of different hues, interests and ideologies, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
A four-time Maharashtra chief minister, who served as Union Defence and Agriculture minister, Pawar was instrumental in stitching together an unlikely coalition of the NCP, Congress and then ideologically opposite Shiv Sena to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Pawar said that a new committee comprising senior NCP leaders will be formed to select a new party president.
He said his political journey began on May 1, 1960, and has continued unabated for the past 63 years, having served Maharashtra and India in various capacities during this period.
"I have three years left of Rajya Sabha membership in Parliament, during which I will focus on issues related to Maharashtra and India, with a caveat of not taking any responsibility. After a long period of public life from May 1, 1960, to May 1, 2023, it is necessary to take a step back. Hence, I have decided to step down as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party," Pawar said.
Pawar went on to add,As you all know, I am involved in the activities of many charitable organisations. More than 4.5 lakh students study in various courses at institutions like Rayat Shikshan Sansthan (Satara), Vidya Pratishthan (Baramati), Maratha Mandir (Mumbai), Mahatma Gandhi Sarvodaya Sangh (Urali Kanchan, Pune), Shivnagar Vidya Prasarak Mandal (Baramati), and Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Shikshan Parishad (Pune). I will keep guiding these institutions."
He also said that he would continue to devote his time to the Nehru Centre, which promotes activities in the field of science in Mumbai, the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan which focuses on various issues across Maharashtra, the Mumbai Marathi Granth Sangrahalaya Sansthan which promotes readin.
Pawar added, "I offer guidance to many organizations like the Vasantdada Sugar Institute which is doing research and expansion work in the sugarcane and sugar factories...Hence. given the time I will have, I am going to pay more attention to all these organisations."
"Maharashtra and all of you have given me strong support and love in the last 6 decades... I cannot forget that. It's time for a new generation to guide the party," Pawar added.
In a written statement, Pawar said, "On May 1, 1960, the state of Maharashtra was formed under the leadership of Yashwantrao Chavan Saheb. On the same day, I became a member of the Pune City Youth Congress. I started going to the Congress Bhavan in Pune since I was attending all the Congress programmes. In due course of time, given the work I was doing, I got an opportunity to work in the State Youth Congress, and I moved from Pune to Tilak Bhavan in Dadar, Mumbai. From there, I began to get in touch with youth organisations of different districts and senior leaders at the state level. Subsequently, the National Youth Congress selected a group of young leaders from across India, amongst whom I was one for the 'World Assembly of Youth' scholarship, to study 'how a new generation of leadership is created in other countries and what action program was planned for it. I had the opportunity to go to Japan, America, Canada, and Denmark and see the senior leaders and how the organisation works in those countries,” reads the speech.
He added, “In 1966, the process to declare the general elections in India had started, due to which I had to leave the foreign tour halfway and return to India. As is the practice, the process of selecting Lok Sabha and Assembly candidates started in the Congress party, wherein the senior leadership insisted that some seats should be given to the youth in these general elections. At the insistence of Yashwant Rao Chavan Saheb, I was selected as a candidate for the Baramati assembly constituency. Contesting against me was an influential figure in the cooperative movement. Due to my association with the State Youth Congress, I had cultivated a network of a large number of young colleagues who took over the responsibility of organising the campaign of my first election, and helped me get elected to the Assembly by a considerable margin, at the age of 27 years,” Pawar wrote.
Pawar went on to add, "Amongst the many new faces in the state assembly, I was elected as the Secretary of the Congress Legislative Party due to the interest I had shown in legislative work, which the party recognised. This post allowed me to pay more attention to the work of the Assembly. It happened during the tenure of Shri Vasantrao Naik, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who encouraged active participation of new members in the legislature. This period passed by incredibly fast...it seemed like it was just yesterday that I had started my work as a young, active legislator."
Speaking of contesting his second assembly election in 1972, Pawar said in the statement that he was elected with a higher margin of votes as compared to the first. "I had the opportunity to serve as a Minister of State for General Administration and Home Affairs in Vasantrao Naik's cabinet for which I was prepared given my experience in the party and legislature since my entry into politics in 1967."
In the 56 years I spent working as a public representative, I have had the privilege of serving as a member of the State Assembly and of the Legislative Council, as well as a Member of Parliament, Pawar added.
He further added, “I have also been entrusted with multiple responsibilities such as ministerial posts in various departments in the state government such as Leader of Opposition in the State Legislature; a 4-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."
Announcing his decision to step back as NCP chief, Pawar said: "Since the formation of the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999, I have had the privilege of being elected as its President, which today is in its 24th year. This entire journey of being in public life, which began on May 1, 1960, has continued unabated for the past 63 years, having served Maharashtra and India in various capacities during this period. I have three years left of Rajya Sabha membership in Parliament, during which I will focus on issues related to Maharashtra and India, with a caveat of not taking any responsibility. After a long period of public life from May 1, 1960, to May 1, 2023, it is necessary to take a step back. Hence, I have decided to step down as President of the Nationalist Congress Party. However, I intend to do more in the fields of education, agriculture, cooperation, sports and culture, amongst others. I will also pay attention to issues related to the youth, students, workers, Dalits, tribals, and other weaker sections of the society.”
Pawar reassured his emotional colleagues that he was not retiring from public life. "Constant travel has become an integral part of my life. I will continue attending public events, and meetings. Whether I am in Pune, Mumbai, Baramati, Delhi, or any other part of India, I will be available to all of you as usual. I will continue to work round the clock to solve the people's problems," he said.
"The love and trust of the people is my life's breath. There will be no separation between me and public. I was with you; I am with you, and will always be there till my last breath! So we will keep meeting,” Pawar said as he concluded his speech.
Reactions to Pawar's decision
While NCP president Jayant Patil and party leader Jitendra Awhad broke down after Pawar's decision, party MP Praful Patel beseeched him to withdraw his decision.
Patel said Pawar did not take anyone into confidence before announcing his resignation.
Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked partymen to let the senior Pawar get some rest, adding that senior leaders will try and make the former Defence Minister reconsider his decision.
Who is on the new panel to elect new NCP chief?
Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, K.K. Sharma, P.C. Chacko, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Supriya Sule, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope, Jitendra Awhad, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Jade Gaikwad.
Fauzia Khan, President, Nationalist Mahila Congress; Dheeraj Sharma, President, Nationalist Youth Congress; Sonia Duhan, President, Nationalist Youth Congress and Nationalist Students' Congress, too, are part of it.
(With PTI inputs)