‘Like Balasaheb…dirty politics’: Sanjay Raut on Sharad Pawar's resignation

Sanjay Raut said Balasaheb too once resigned as Shiv Sena Pramukh ‘fed up by dirty politics and allegations’.

As Sharad Pawar's announcement to step down from the post of the president of the Nationalist Congress Party caught Maharashtra politicians by surprise, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut, who is very close to Pawar, compared Pawar with Balasaheb and said Balasaheb too had resigned from the chief's post "fed up by dirty politics and allegations." Read | ‘Time for the new generation': Sharad Pawar as he steps down as NCP chief. Top quotes

Sanjay Raut earlier said Sharad Pawar told him that there was a pressure on some individuals in the party to break ranks.

"History seems to have repeated itself... But owing to the love of Shivsainiks he had to withdraw his decision... Like Balasaheb, Pawar Saheb too is the soul of the State's politics," Sanjay Raut tweeted. Read | On Sharad Pawar's resignation, nephew Ajit says veteran leader will…

Sanjay Raut had hinted at a major development in Maharashtra politics a year before the election. But what he hinted at was a clash inside NCP which might lead to a split in the party. Raut earlier claimed that Pawar told him that there was pressure on individuals to break rank.

This led to speculations that Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar might break away from the NCP to support the BJP. While these speculations were laid to rest by the party, Sharad Pawar on Tuesday announced his decision to step down from the post of president. "There was a signal that the bhakri will be rotated...but the pan was rotated," Sanjay Raut commented after Sharad Pawar's announcement, instead of Ajit Pawar's which was expected.

Supriya Sule's hint of '2 political blasts'

Though the announcement of Sharad Pawar's resignation comes out of the blue, the development was foreshadowed by NCP MP and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule. Last month, amid intense speculation of Ajit Pawar supporting the BJP, Supriya Sule indicated that there will be two political blasts soon -- one in Delhi and another in Maharashtra.

Sharad Pawar who founded the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999 -- breaking away from the Congress -- however is not going to retire from politics. He said he will be with his party but not as the party chief. Sharad Pawar's stepping down might make it easier for Ajit Pawar to support the BJP.