"I am neither tired nor retired," proclaimed Sharad Pawar as he embarked on a tour of Nashik district to kickstart his statewide campaign on Saturday.
The veteran leader exhibited a combative spirit as he refuted Praful Patel's allegations that his daughter had become the fulcrum of his actions and that the future of the NCP was at stake. Pawar also apologised to the public during a public rally in Yeola, the constituency of breakaway leader Chhagan Bhubal, for "fielding the wrong candidate" in the past.
"What does age have to do with it? I am not tired or retired. Do you know at what age Morarji Desai became prime minister? There are many leaders today who are over 70 years old. I have no aspirations to become the Prime Minister. I simply want to work for the people," Pawar asserted, responding to his nephew Ajit Pawar's remarks. He further challenged those questioning his retirement by asking, "Who are they to tell me to retire? I can still work."
Regarding Praful Patel's allegations about Supriya Sule's influence, Pawar clarified that party workers had wanted Supriya to join politics and highlighted Patel's own positions of authority within the party. He emphasised how Patel had served as a Union minister for 10 years despite losing a Lok Sabha election, and how he had been offered a Rajya Sabha seat twice.
While acknowledging discussions with the BJP, Pawar clarified that political dialogues do not imply an alliance with them. He emphasised that he does not consider anyone as an enemy in politics, recognising that ideological differences may exist.
At a public rally in Yeola, Pawar took the opportunity to apologise to the people. He stated, "I have come here not to criticize anyone, but to apologise to you. I apologise because my calculations went wrong here. Generally, my calculations never go wrong, but they failed here, and hence I apologise to you." Pawar's apology was made in reference to Chhagan Bhujbal, who had been elected as the MLA from the constituency for the past four terms but had now chosen to leave the party.
During the rally, Pawar also criticised Prime Minister Modi, challenging him to thoroughly investigate any corruption allegations against NCP members. He expressed readiness to support any inquiry conducted by the Prime Minister using the full strength of all agencies to punish any wrongdoers.
