Sharad Pawar

"There is no alternative to Modi in the 2024 elections… that's the reality.Even Sharad Pawar Saheb has said this," Ajit Pawer said. He advised his uncle and NCP Founder-President Sharad Pawar, 83, not to remain adamant and given his senior age, should take rest and guide the party, as "he is our mentor and inspiration".

New and second Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar inaugurated his party office near Mantralaya this morning and installed a large portrait of his uncle, whom his NCP faction has also continued as the party President. Since the past three days, the NCP Ajit Pawar group has been invoking Sharad Pawar’s name for many purposes which has apparently peeved the latter.

Some of them were very close to Sharad Pawar who personally mentored, nurtured and stood by them -- a few even faced probes by Central agencies -- through thick and thin for decades. As the party grew, so did these leaders who were given plum positions within the party and in the successive governments -- with Congress from 1999 to 2014 and later in the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime of Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena from 2019-2022.

This time, the political war is being fought with an in-house rival - his nephew Ajit Anantrao Pawar, labelled as the "culprit" who broke the party to sup with the “enemy camp” of ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indicating that he may be ‘down but not out’, Sharad Pawar, 83, declared that notwithstanding the split engineered by his over-ambitious nephew, he would again rebuild the party from scratch. Asked that henceforth, “who could be the most reliable face of the party”, without batting an eyelid, Sharad Pawar raised his right hand and quipped: “Sharad Pawar!”

Addressing a crowded media conference, Ajit Pawar, 64, who took oath as Deputy CM for the 5th time, said that the entire NCP is with him and he had blessings of everyone in the party. Giving a peek into the top-secret political drama which erupted on Sunday, Pawar revealed that he had already resigned as the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Leader of Opposition in the Assembly on last Friday.

“Today, his party has joined hands and sworn-in (as Ministers) some people from the same (NCP) party against whom Modi had pointed fingers. This means that Modi’s allegations were baseless and we are now ‘absolved’ of all the charges. I am thankful to him for this… I am happy for those facing enquiries who have taken oath today,” Sharad Pawar said.

Talking to media persons here, Pawar said that the meeting was planned in Shimla on July 11-12, but owing to weather and heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh, the venue has been shifted to Bengaluru. This will be the second meeting after June 23 when over 15 national opposition parties had met in Patna to chart out the strategy to challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"In the elections, the people gave a majority to the Congress. This means that its manifesto was accepted by the masses. It's the responsibility of the government to implement the approved program and the Karnataka government has started doing it," said Sharad Pawar.

Pawar has been warned via a Twitter message threatening that he will meet the same fate as Dr. Narendra Dabholkar (the rationalist who was shot dead in Pune in August 2013), sending shockwaves in the political circles.In a telephonic threat issued through Sunil Raut, MLA, his brother, Sanjay Raut, MP.