Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday urged his party workers to prepare for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, asserting that they will return to power in the state. Pawar, along with his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule and other party leaders, attended the NCP-SCP Foundation Day program in Pune.
"Over the last 25 years, we have worked to spread our ideologies," Pawar stated while addressing NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers during the party's 25th foundation day celebration at its Pune office. "As elections approach, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the power of the state will be in your hands after the poll results."
Criticizing the BJP-led NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pawar claimed that the recent Lok Sabha election results show that Modi does not have a clear mandate. "The country is going through a very different situation these days. If you look at the election results, the mandate is not with Modi, and the number of their MPs has reduced. They received support from Bihar and TDP. For the last five years, they governed as they wished, without listening to anyone. Their power was centralized, but now the situation has changed. Power will no longer be centralized as people have become very smart now," Pawar remarked.
Supriya Sule, also present at the event, stated, "Pawar saheb has spoken with Sonia Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray, and we will give a strong fight in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha election." She extended her best wishes to the newly appointed ministers from Maharashtra in PM Modi's cabinet, saying, "I want them to work for the development of Maharashtra."
Sharad Pawar formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999 after breaking away from the Congress. Following political turmoil in NCP last July, the party split into two factions after Ajit Pawar and some other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state.
However, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) maintained their political ground as part of the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) alliance during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The alliance won 30 out of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats, with NCP (SP) securing 8 seats, Congress winning 13, and Shiv Sena (UBT) capturing nine seats.
In contrast, the 'Mahayuti' alliance suffered a setback, winning only 17 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The BJP secured 9 seats, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) won 8 seats, and the NCP are allies in the 'Mahayuti' alliance.
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