Sharad Pawar announced that he has stepped down as president of the Nationalist Congress Party.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar today announced that he is stepping down as the chief of NCP. Mr Pawar made the announcement at the launch of revised version of his autobiography which was met with protests by party workers and leaders who asked the leader to rescind the decision.
Here is the full text of Sharad Pawar's speech:
On May 1, 1960, the state of Maharashtra was formed under the leadership of Yashwantrao Chavan Saheb, on the same day, I became a member of the Pune City Youth Congress. I started going to the Congress Bhavan in Pune since I was attending all the Congress programmes. In due course of time given the work I was doing, I got an opportunity to work in the State Youth Congress, and I moved from Pune to Tilak Bhavan in Dadar, Mumbai. From there, I began to get in touch with youth organisations of different districts and senior leaders at the state level. Subsequently, the National Youth Congress selected a group of young leaders from across India, amongst whom I was one for the 'World Assembly of Youth' scholarship, to study on 'how a new generation of leadership is created in other countries and what action program is planned for it'. I had the opportunity to go to Japan, America, Canada, and Denmark and see the senior leaders and how the organisation works in those countries.
In 1966, the process to declare the general elections in India had started, due to which I had to leave the foreign tour halfway and return back to India. As is the practice, the process of selecting Lok Sabha and Assembly candidates started in the Congress party, wherein the senior leadership insisted that some seats should be given to the youth in these general elections. At the insistence of Yashwant Rao Chavan Saheb I was selected as a candidate for the Baramati assembly constituency, contesting against me was an influential figure in the cooperative movement. Due to my association with the State Youth Congress, I had cultivated a network of a large number of young colleagues who took over the responsibility of organising the campaign of my first election, and helped me get elected to the Assembly by a considerable margin, at the age of 27 years. Amongst the many new faces in the state assembly, I was elected as the Secretary of the Congress Legislative Party due to the interest I had shown in legislative work, which the party recognised.
This post allowed me to pay more attention to the work of the Assembly, during the tenure of Shri Vasantrao Naik, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who encouraged active participation of new members in the legislature. This period passed by incredibly fast, when it just seemed like it was yesterday that I had started my work as a young, active legislator. I contested my second assembly election in 1972, and was elected with a higher margin of votes as compared to the first. I had the opportunity to serve as a Minister of State for General Administration and Home Affairs in Vasantrao Naik's cabinet, for which I was prepared given my experience in the party and legislature since my entry into politics in 1967.
During the 56 years of my being a public representative, I have had the privilege of serving as a member of the State Assembly and of the Legislative Council, as well as a Member of Parliament
in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. During this long tenure, I have been entrusted with multiple responsibilities such as Ministerial posts in various departments in the state government; Leader of Opposition in the State Legislature; a 4 time Chief Minister of Maharashtra; India's Defence Minister; Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and India's Agriculture Minister during the UPA government.
Since the formation of the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999, I have had the privilege of being elected as its President, which today is in its 24th year. This entire journey of being in public life, which began on May 1, 1960, has continued unabated for the past 63 years, having served Maharashtra and India in various capacities during this period. I have three years left of Rajya Sabha membership in Parliament, during which I will focus on issues related to Maharashtra and India, with a caveat of not taking any responsibility. After a long period of public life 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. However, I intend to do more in the fields of education, agriculture, cooperation, sports and culture, amongst others. I will also pay attention issues related to the Youth, Students, workers, Dalit's, Tribal's and other weaker sections of the society.
As you know, I am involved in the activities of many Charitable Organisations. More than 4.5 lakh students study in various courses from Rayat Shikshan Sansthan (Satara); Vidya Pratishthan (Baramati); Maratha Mandir (Mumbai); Mahatma Gandhi Sarvodaya Sangh (Urali Kanchan, Pune); Shivnagar Vidya Prasarak Mandal (Baramati); and Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Shikshan Parishad (Pune). Besides working and guiding these institutions, I will continue to devote my time and guidance to the Nehru Centre, which promotes activities in the field of Science in Mumbai; Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, which focusses on various issues of Maharashtra; Mumbai Marathi Granth Sangrahalaya Sansthan, which promotes Reading, Culture, and preservation of a Books. I am in charge of many organizations like the Vasantdada Sugar Institute, which is doing research and expansion work in the sugarcane and sugar factories, for which I continue to guide and contribute towards its success. Hence, given the time I will have, I am going to pay more attention to this work from now on.
I cannot forget that Maharashtra and all of you have given me strong support and love in the last 6 decades. It's time for a new generation to guide the party and the direction it intends to take. I am recommending that a committee of NCP members should be formed to decide on the election of the vacancy in the President's post.
The committee should have the following members: Mr Praful Patel, Shri. Sunil Tatkare, Shri. K.K. Sharma, Shri. P.C. Chacko, Mr Ajit Pawar, Shri. Jayant Patil, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri. Chhagan Bhujbal, Shri. Dilip Walse Patil, Shri. Anil Deshmukh, Mr Rajesh Tope, Mr Jitendra Awhad, Shri. Hasan Mushrif, Mr Dhananjay Munde, Shri. Jaydev Gaikwad and Ex-officio Member: Mrs Fauzia Khan, President, Nationalist Mahila Congress, Shri. Dheeraj Sharma,
President, Nationalist Youth Congress; Sonia Duhan, President, Nationalist Youth Congress and Nationalist Students' Congress.
This committee will decide on the president's selection. It will continue to strive for the growth of the party organization, to take the ideology and goals of the party to the people, and to serve the people, as they deem fit.
My colleagues, even though I am stepping down from the post of president, I am not retiring from public life. 'Constant travel' has become an integral part of my life. I will continue attending public events, meetings. Whether I am in Pune, Mumbai, Baramati, Delhi or any other part of India, I will be available to all of you as usual. I will continue to work round the clock to solve the people's problems.
The love and trust of the people is my breath. There will be no separation from me or public retirement. I was with you; I am and will always be there till my last breath! So we'll keep meeting; Thank you!