"Let's not be emotional about this..." Ajit Pawar supports Sharad Pawar's decision to step down as NCP president
Chaotic scenes unfolded during the launch of the second edition of Sharad Pawar’s autobiography on Tuesday, May 2, after the political heavyweight announced that he is stepping down as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and said that a committee of senior NC leaders would decide the future course of action.
NCP leaders and workers in presence of Pawar raised slogans against his exit, and said that they will “not leave the hall until he withdraws his decision.” The leaders said, “We do not accept saheb’s decision. We urge you to withdraw it. We will not move until you do it.” Some leaders were spotted to be in tears on stage.
Announcing his decision, Pawar had said, “I have three years tenure remaining in Rajya Sabha. I will not contest elections henceforth. In these three years, I will more concentrate on issues concerned to state and the country. I will not take any additional responsibilities. I started my political career on May 1, 1960. Yesterday we celebrated May day. After this prolonged political career, one must think about stopping somewhere. One must not be greedy. I will never take a position of sticking to a post after so many years. Therefore, you might feel uneasy. But I have decided to retire from the post of the NCP chief.”
