Sharad Pawar Resolves To Retire After Current Rajya Sabha Term

NCP president Sharad Pawar has declared that he would not contest any election after his present Rajya Sabha term ends two and a half years later. Pawar has been at the receiving end over his age since his nephew Ajit Pawar has time and again advised him to take rest ‘at this stage of his life.’ Hitting out at him, Pawar has said that he entered politics in 1959 and has never taken a holiday. Moreover, when Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister, he was 83. Pawar quipped that he was elected by people to the parliament and hence needed to complete his term in the upper house. Pawar heads a myriad of organisations and is quite active in participating in their activities. He hates any talk of retirement. Ajit, therefore, has been harping on his age at every given opportunity. Irked by his constant needling, Ajit’s cousin and Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, MP, has remarked that Ajit has turned 65 and is now a senior citizen. Her implied message was that he, too, should consider retiring. This has once again highlighted the bitterness between the uncle and nephew as Pawar has reiterated that the doors of his party are permanently closed for Ajit and his supporters who walked out of the NCP in July 2023.