Reading between the lines: What Sharad Pawar’s stepping down means

There was a massive twist in Maharashtra, with Sharad Pawar's shock announcement that he is stepping down as president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The announcement was made after Sharad Pawar released his autobiography, 'Lok Majhe Saangaati.' Following the announcement there were protests and several of his followers rushed up to the stage requesting him to reconsider his decision.

Many see this decision as a signal to his nephew, Ajit Pawar who has been reportedly revolting against the party. This has also been seen as an orchestrated move by Pawar to build pressure on Ajit Pawar, who is his nephew.

Last week there were reports that Ajit Pawar may breakaway from the party with 40 MLAs and form the government with the BJP in Maharashtra. He had however denied the same, but had also added that he does have ambitions of becoming Chief Minister. The move by Pawar could have thwarted a possible 2019 like move by Ajit Pawar when he formed the government with the BJP which barely lasted 80 hours.

One must also read closely into the statement made by Sharad Pawar while he announced that he is stepping down. He said that he is only stepping down as the president of the party. He however made it clear that he was not stepping away from public life. This would mean that he would be very much part of the affairs of the party. He also said that a panel within the party will choose the next party chief. "I am not retiring from public service. I have been working with the people. Programmes and meetings will continue to come as usual," Pawar also said.

These statements make it amply clear that Pawar is no where close to retiring from political life and would continue to play a major role in the NCP.

The resignation and the drama that followed only shows that Pawar was testing his strength in the party. The party cadre is bound to get emotional and will keep requesting him to re-consider. This would ultimately leave Ajit Pawar in a spot of bother and he may just have to postpone his plans for a few more years.