Sharad Pawar announces his decision to step down as chief of the Nationalist Congress Party at a book launch of his autobiography at the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratisthan in Mumbai.
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar said, ‘Even though I am stepping down from the post of president, I am not retiring from public life’.
#WATCH | Supporters of NCP chief Sharad Pawar protest against his announcement to step down as the national president of NCP. pic.twitter.com/LsCV601EYs
— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2023
I have decided to step down as NCP president, Pawar told party workers in Mumbai.“My colleagues, even though I am stepping down from the post of president, I am 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”, Pawar told the NCP workers.
Speaking at a book launch of his autobiography at the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratisthan in Mumbai, Pawar announced his decision which was met with protests by NCP workers and leaders.
Sharad Pawar is a veteran Indian politician who has served as the chief minister of Maharashtra four times and as a union minister in various portfolios. He is the founder and president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. He is also a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
He is the oldest and senior most member of the Pawar political dynastic family of Maharashtra. The family has 2 members of parliament and 2 members of the legislative assembly in the state assembly, among them, Ajit Pawar was the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. It is an influential family in Maharashtra and India.
In 1999, Pawar was diagnosed with oral cancer due to the habit of chewing gutka, and had oral surgery in April 2004. In March 2021, he underwent surgery for his gallbladder problem.
His first political movement was when he was a schoolboy, he organized a protest march for Goan Independence in Pravaranagar in 1956. At college, he was active in student politics. Although his older lawyer brother belonged to the Peasants and Workers Party, he chose to join the Congress party and joined Youth Congress in 1958. He subsequently became the president of the Pune District Youth Congress in 1962. By 1964, he was one of the two secretaries of the Maharashtra Youth Congress and in regular contact with influential leaders of the party.
On 2 May 2023, he announced his resignation as the NCP chief, saying he wanted to make way for the younger generation.