Exclusive: Sharad Pawar Explains U-Turn After Resignation Announcement

Mumbai:

Sharad Pawar, a day after withdrawing his resignation as the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), explained why he did not tell his party colleagues about his intention to quit from the NCP president's post.

Mr Pawar told NDTV that had he revealed his plan to his NCP colleagues, they would not have allowed him to step down, which eventually turned out to be true.

"I had to do this (resign) at some point of time. I took care not to let this decision affect other parties. I worked out a programme to leave the NCP president's post, but would still have campaigned for the party from the very next day," Mr Pawar, 83, told NDTV.

"Despite all this, I could not convince my colleagues. And in fact I consciously took the decision to not consult them as they would have never allowed me. I thought I would convince them, but I could not. That's why I had to respect what they were saying and take the responsibility again," Mr Pawar said.

Mr Pawar, who had founded the NCP in 1999 after breaking away from the Congress, had stunned his party by announcing his decision to resign as its president on Tuesday, saying he wanted to make way for a new leadership.

The only leader who appeared to accept the decision and talk about the future was Ajit Pawar, Mr Pawar's political heir, whose recent moves have triggered speculation that he may split the party and join hands with the BJP.

Giving some insight into why he decided to step down, Sharad Pawar said he started his career in 1962, quite a long time ago.

"I have been either an MLA or MP continuously for 56 years... I thought this was enough. After spending so many years in public life, this past one year I had been thinking it is my duty to bring new leadership. That's why decided to leave the NCP president's post," Sharad Pawar told NDTV.

The NCP chief denied speculation about Ajit Pawar making moves to ally with the BJP.

"NCP will never break. No one will leave the party. For no reason, people are maligning Ajit Pawar. His always concentrates on delivering results. He is a result-oriented person. And that's why sometimes he speaks less. That creates misunderstanding. We work together and we will show results," Sharad Pawar said about his nephew.

Sharad Pawar said his nephew supported his decision to quit as party chief because Ajit Pawar was the only NCP leader who had an idea that he was going to resign. He said Ajit Pawar was not upset with him or the party.

Sharad Pawar indicated he will work to bring together like-minded parties ahead of the national election in 2024. "Some wrong signal has gone out because of my decision (to step down). Not just party workers, even leaders of non-BJP parties asked me to give it a second thought. I think my responsibility in the larger interest of the nation is to bring together like-minded parties and provide an alternative to the people," the NCP chief said.