Sharad Pawar says ready for long battle, avoids direct attack on Ajit

Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has vowed to fight a long political battle against his nephew Ajit Pawar. He also stated that he will retain control over the party's name and election symbol, despite Ajit's attempts to take over. Pawar criticized his former aide Chhagan Bhujbal and accused the BJP of creating communal tensions in Maharashtra. He emphasized the need to strengthen the NCP and rebuild the party on his own.

Mumbai: Despite more than 30 of his MLAs switching sides, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday made it clear that he was readying for a long political battle against his nephew and now rival Ajit Pawar. He also insisted that both, the name as well as the election symbol of the party, an analog clock, will remain under his control and that he would defy his nephew’s attempts to hijack both.

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Referring to his long political innings over nearly 6 decades, Sharad Pawar said, “I have contested so many polls and that too on different election symbols. If someone claims that your election symbol will be snatched, then this will not happen. We will not allow them to do so. Anyway, election symbols do not matter if people are with us.” he remarked.

“Some people say I’m their guru (teacher); then claim how I was wrong,” he said without naming Ajit Pawar.

He was was careful to avoid a direct attack on Ajit and neither did he comment on the allegations that Ajit Pawar had made earlier in his speech about the NCP’s several attempts to ally with the BJP in the past. Pawar, who was surrounded by more than 2000 party workers and leaders at the YB Chavan Memorial at Nariman Point, instead chose to attack his former aide Chhagan Bhujbal, saying “He was behind bars for two years and despite people saying that I should not give him a chance again in politics, he was among the first ministers to take oath in the MVA government.” On Praful Patel, whom he had appointed as the party’s working president just last months, Pawar kept a resolute silence.

“MLAs keep coming and going…Our one-point agenda should be to strengthen the NCP,” Pawar said seeking to play down his own meagre number of MLAs who turned up in his support on Wednesday.

“There is an argument going on these days that one faction has so many MLAs and another faction has X number of MLAs, I choose not to get into these arguments. There is no need to worry,” he assured his supporters, speaking in his characteristic measured tones. “We also have no complaints against those who left us. If we are united, then new and efficient leadership can be elected,” he said, stressing that even though he is 82, he is still capable of rebuilding the party on his own.

Earlier inher speech, Supriya Sule had said that just older citizens as Ratan Tata,Cyrus Poonawalla and Amitabh Bachchan were active and ahead in their fields, so was her father. She also cautioned Ajit Pawar to not get personal in his attacks against her father. “You can say anything about me, but do not malign my father.”

Continuing to attack Ajit PAwar without naming him, Pawar said, “I saw them using my photographs on their stage, banners and posters. This is because they know their coin will not work and only this will do.”

He took potshots at prime minister Narendra Modi for making false allegations of corruption against NCP and Bharatiya Janata Party for their “Manuwadi Hindutva”and accused the ruling party for creating communal tensions in the state

He distinguished between the Hindutva of the BJP and his ally the Shiv Sena saying, “Shiv Sena is a Hindutva party and they don’t hide from this, but their Hindutva is to take everyone together whereas BJP’s Hindutva is inspired by Manuwadi.” He then went on to accuse the BJP of fomenting communalism across Maharashtra.

“Everyone knows who is part of it. Where they are not ruling, riots were fomented deliberately to create animosity between communities and to take its political advantage. Those who create animosity and divide the society cannot be nationalist,” Pawar said in his 36-minute speech which was half as long as his nephew’s.