4 min readMumbaiJul 11, 2023 02:23 PM IST
First published on: Jul 3, 2023 at 09:00 PM IST
At 82, veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, hit the road early Monday morning to commence a tour of the state to “instil faith” among party workers, “revive the party” and “build something new… for better results in the future”.
Starting from Pune at around 8 am Monday — a day after nephew Ajit Pawar claimed the support of all NCP MLAs and joined the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Sena government as Deputy Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar, made at least four stops to meet and speak with party workers as he drove to Karad. An estimated crowd of around 3,000 welcomed him with posters such as ‘Sharad Pawar is our only boss’.
Before addressing a public rally at Karad in Satara district, Pawar paid respects to his political mentor and Maharashtra’s first Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan on the occasion of Guru Purnima at his memorial in the city. He was accompanied by NCP supporters including Karad North MLA Balasaheb Patil, Satara MP Shrinivas Patil, and MLAs Anil Deshmukh and Rohit Pawar. Congress leader and former Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan too joined him on stage in the city.
Among the NCP MLAs present was also Wai MLA Makarand Patil who was on Sunday seen at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai for the swearing in ceremony of Ajit Pawar.
“Attempts are being made to create a communal divide in Maharashtra and the country. We need to fight forces that create fear among peace-loving citizens…Unfortunately, few of our colleagues have fallen prey to such forces. Nevertheless, the people of Maharashtra will not succumb to them and will show them their real place. These forces who damaged our democratic system will be taught a lesson,” Pawar said addressing the public rally at Karad.
In Satara, he said, “Whenever I plan to build something new, I choose two cities. One is Satara and second is Kolhapur. In the NCP, despite support from thousands of workers who expected them to strengthen the party and maintain communal harmony, few of our colleagues chose to take a different route. They joined forces in direct conflict with our ideology. I have started this tour with an aim that those workers who trusted us should not get disheartened.”
He further said that the political tide could be turned by reaching out to the public. “If we work hard then I am sure that within a few months the state’s (political) situation will be beneficial to us,” he said.
The NCP chief said he was not making any attempts to reach out to party MLAs to check where their loyalties lie. “I have not called any MLA to show support to me. After 8-10 days when the dust will settle, people will realise what has happened. I don’t bother to check who has gone where. My tour today is to ensure better results in future,” Pawar said.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar addresses supporters after paying tribute to former Maharashtra chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad on Monday. (PTI) 
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