Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday hinted at retiring from politics. The senior politician said that he had fought elections 14 times and stressed the need to hand over responsibility to the new generation.
Pawar made the remark during his visit to Baramati to campaign for party candidate and grandson Yugendra Pawar, who will take on his uncle Ajit Pawar in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls.
Pawar stated that after completing his Rajya Sabha tenure, he would consider whether to leave his parliamentary position.
“I am not in power. I am in Rajya Sabha and the last one and a half years are left. I have already contested 14 elections. How many more shall I contest? Every time you have made me win the elections. I should stop somewhere. A new generation should be brought in,” reported ANI, quoting Pawar.
The former chief minister said that he would continue to do social work and would not need any elections for that, adding, “I will not contest in the Lok Sabha. I will not contest any election.”
Pawar's Rajya Sabha tenure will be completed in 2026.
Meanwhile, addressing a public meeting in Shirsuphal, Pawar acknowledged Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's contribution to Baramati but asserted that the region needs new leadership for its development for the next three decades.
"Now, it's time to prepare for the future. We need to groom leadership that will work for the next 30 years," the former Union minister said, adding that everyone should get an opportunity, and he had never held anyone back.
In an apparent dig at Ajit Pawar, he said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Pawar further said that though he hadn't come to ask for votes recently, the people of Baramati have never disappointed him.
