New Delhi: NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is not one to be easily swayed with emotions, nor is he a person who would speak without carefully weighing his words. When the senior leader chose his home turf in Baramati to make an announcement that he is considering to hang his boots because he must “stop somewhere…”, it came across as a surprise to many of his supporters. Although senior Pawar is 83, closing in on 84, his political acumen is as strong as it used to be in his heydays. The swift manner in which he navigated the split with nephew Ajit Pawar in July 2023 or his deft handling of the family feud between daughter Supriya Sule and his brother’s wife Sumitra Pawar during their Lok Sabha encounter in 2024, Sharad Pawar has always been around when the situation demanded.
Undoubtedly, Sharad Pawar wears the mantle of being the tallest leader of the state today. The Assembly election, of which he is a part, will perhaps decide the pace as well as the direction that his own party NCP will take forward. In that sense, this Assembly election is perhaps the most important (and challenging) for the leader and his legacy. Apart from his own party which is now divided into two factions, Pawar’s this outing could be the most eventful one for the INDIA alliance which is banking heavily on his popularity to stitch together a comeback in the state.
A good all-round performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls will act as the perfect foil for the MVA and Sharad Pawar will be at the centre of all the happenings and negotiations. With elections just a few days to go and the result awaiting a photo finish, this election could be his swan song; who wouldn’t want to go down winning in that case? It is for this reason that political pundits are calling Pawar’s retirement announcement in Baramati nothing but a political gimmick. Albeit a timely one.
Why Pawar chose Baramati to make this call
The Pawar’s have had a special connect with Baramati. It was ideal that the senior leader chose his home turf to make the suggestion that new talent needs to be trained for the future. Pawar was campaigning for Yugendra Pawar, his grandnephew who will be taking on his uncle and opponent Ajit Pawar in the November 20 Assembly polls in the state. It is here at the rally that Pawar made an emotional appeal to his supporters, saying he may not contest any elections going forward.
“After finishing the remaining one and a half years of the Rajya Sabha term, I will have to give a thought if I should again go to Rajya Sabha or not. I will not be contesting any elections,” he said. Also as an inspiration to the younger generation, Pawar said the time was ripe to hone new talent and that would happen only if older people retired when the time was right.
On Tuesday also, Pawar said that he wants to make a way for the younger generation. “I have contested 14 elections, and every time people ensure my win. However, I have to stop somewhere and make a way for the younger generation. It does not mean that I will be away from social work also. I will continue to work in social life. I do not want power, but I will continue to work for the common people,” he said in his speech.
Baramati holds a special place in Sharad Pawar’s heart as he was made 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,” an emotional Pawar said at the rally.
If this was done to gain political mileage, is the move going to pay for Pawar, the NCP and even the INDI alliance in the long run? According to political analysts, it was a smart move by a politician who has contested 14 elections in his political career spanning around six decades. Once a politician, always one. Pawar has himself said he will not be retiring from social life and will be serving as a politician from the sidelines. This emotional appeal to the people in his home turf just before the Assembly polls is a challenging move but it could work.
