Sharad Pawar’s one-man show proves he is a formidable force in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: A defining image of this time’s Maharashtra elections was the sight of 79-year-old Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar addressing a campaign rally in the open, amid pouring rain. On Thursday, Pawar, a veteran of many battles, threw a wet towel over the BJP’s victory parade by making a huge dent in the BJP’s bid to come back to power in the state on its own. In the process, Pawar has enhanced his reputation as a one-man, formidable force in Maharashtra politics, who has held sway for the past 50 years.

And at Satara, where Pawar campaigned amid pouring rain against Udayan Raje, a scion of Maratha king Shivaji, voters defeated Udayan, who resigned as an NCP MP five months after he was elected and contested as a BJP candidate. Pawar managed to get Shriniwas Patil to contest and defeat Udayan.

The NCP has won 45 and leading in 9 more seats (as of press time), up from 41 it won last time. It may not seem to be a big gain but it means much to the NCP and the Congress, hobbled by a number of leaders and MLAs deserting their respective parties.


On Thursday, Pawar said, “People don’t like arrogance of power. They have shown their displeasure. They want rulers who are grounded”. Pawar, on Thursday, said that the people have rejected the politics of targeting opposition leaders.

He said the BJP’s personal attacks on him and Praful Patel had not worked. “People don’t like power being misused and it could have impacted the polls in some way. Some poeple have crossed all limits in order to gather votes. The BJP was making all kinds of personal allegations…” Pawar said.

For the NCP chief, his party’s performance was sweet considering that many NCP turncoats, who had joined BJP and Sena, lost the polls. “You work 10 to 15 years in one party, then you join another party because you don’t want to sit in the opposition. People have rejected such people. People are totally against this government. The process of change has started and people want change.”