Sharad Pawar Vows To Rebuild Party Amid Rebellion

Undeterred by his nephew Ajit Pawar's rebellion, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday vowed to rebuild the party.

Addressing party workers in Satara, the NCP chief claimed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde and the BJP will not fulfil all demands of all rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and many rebel MLAs will return back to the Sena fold again.

"Today, in Maharashtra and the country, a rift is being created between the society in the name of caste and religion by some groups... My fight is against communal forces," said Sharad Pawar.

In Karad, Sharad Pawar was welcomed by thousands of supporters and local MLA Balasaheb Patil. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who hails from Karad, was also present.

'I will rebuild the party...A common man in Maharashtra will stay hungry, but not support such elements. They will show these elements their place," Pawar said amid a show of strength in Karad.

Pawar's visit to late Chavan's memorial on the occasion of Guru Purnima is being seen as a show of strength by him, a day after his nephew Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP to become the deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-BJP government.

Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he was undeterred by his nephew Ajit Pawar's rebellion and would start afresh by going among the people.

The 82-year-old leader said Ajit Pawar's exit might be surprising for many, but not to him as he faced a similar situation in 1980 when all leaders of the party he was leading left and he resurrected the party.

"This is not a new thing. The party I was leading in 1980 had 58 MLAs, later all left and only 6 MLAs left, but I strengthened the numbers and those who left me lost in their constituencies," the NCP chief said.