Mumbai: Veteran politician Sharad Pawar on Tuesday announced that he has decided to step down as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after helming it for 24 years and stated that he will not contest any more elections.
There has been no announcement yet on who will succeed him as party boss.
#WATCH | “I am resigning from the post of the national president of NCP,” says #NCP chief #SharadPawar
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“After this prolonged period of political career from May 1, 1960 to May 1, 2023, it is necessary to take a step back. Hence, I have decided to step down as President of the Nationalist Congress Party,” Pawar said.
He further said that he would continue working in the political, social and cultural life. “I have three years tenure remaining in Rajya Sabha. I will not contest elections now,” the veteran leader said.
Meawhile, Sharad Pawar recommended a committee of senior NCP leaders to decide on the future course of action. The committee will include Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, P C Chacko, Narhari Zirwal, Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujabl, Dilip Walse-Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Rajesh Tope, Jitendra Awhad, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Jaydev Gaikwad and chiefs of party frontal cells, Pawar said.
The four-time chief minister of Maharashtra has previously served as the Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of P V Narsimha Rao and as Minister of Agriculture in the Cabinet of Manmohan Singh.
He was the first and former president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress.