Supriya Sule defeated Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar from the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha elections. (file)
Nationalist Congress Party-NCP chief Sharad Pawar on November 5 signaled his retirement from politics. A day after that on Wednesday, his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule said that Pawar Sahib will not retire from politics. Supriya said in a program of 'The Hindu' – Sharad Pawar is in politics every moment he eats, sleeps and breathes. They cannot live without politics. Politics is the biggest tonic for him and he enjoys it.
Pawar Sahib had said that he will not contest the elections, that means he will not contest Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Assembly elections. This does not mean that he will leave politics. Only Ajit Pawar wanted him to retire.
On the other hand, regarding Ajit Pawar's inclusion in the Mahavikas Aghadi and joining hands with the Sharad group, Supriya said – there is no question of reconciliation with Ajit. We will not join hands with them even after the assembly elections.
Supriya said- what happened to us should not happen to anyone
- Whatever happened in Maharashtra in the last few years, what happened to our party would not happen to any other party. A year ago today we had no party. There was no symbol. Everything was taken from us.
- When I contested the election, the fight was not easy. It was necessary to fight, but not necessary to win. Today there was no discussion about policy in Maharashtra elections. No one is discussing the economy or women's security.
- People were saying that our party is over. However, the matter is still in court. This has now become the new normal for us. Sometimes you have to fight with ED, sometimes CBI, sometimes some other agency, but now this is the new normal.
- Elections are not meant to please anyone. This is to create policies. My fight is against BJP. Ajit Pawar is now in alliance with BJP, which is not doing well.
Sharad Pawar had said – we have to stop somewhere
84-year-old Sharad Pawar said in Baramati on November 5, 'I have to stop somewhere. I don't want to contest anymore. Now new people should come forward. I have contested elections 14 times so far. Now I don't want power. I want to work for society. I will think whether to go to Rajya Sabha or not.
In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP fell from 23 to 9 seats
Out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 30 seats and the NDA 17 seats. In which BJP got 9 seats, Shiv Sena got 7 seats and NCP got only 1 seat. BJP has lost 23 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, NDA won 41 seats compared to 42 seats in 2014.
Estimated loss of BJP according to Lok Sabha Elections
If the Maharashtra Assembly elections follow the same trend as the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will suffer. BJP will be reduced to around 60 seats. At the same time, an opposition coalition survey projected MVA to get 160 seats. Maratha movement is the biggest challenge for BJP. Apart from this, people sympathize with Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar after the split between Shiv Sena and NCP.
Assembly Elections- 2019
- In 2019, there was a BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. BJP won 105 and Shiv Sena 56 seats. NCP got 54 seats and Congress got 44 seats from the alliance. BJP-Shiv Sena could have easily come to power, but differences broke the alliance.
- On 23 November 2019, Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister. However, both resigned on November 26 before the majority test.
- On 28 November, Shiv Sena (undivided), NCP (undivided) and Congress' Mahavikas Aghadi came to power.
- After this, there was a split between the Shiv Sena (undivided) and the NCP (undivided) and these two parties split into four factions. However, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray gained in the Lok Sabha elections. Now the Assembly elections are also being held on this background.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
