Sharad Pawar, who heads the NCP (SP), on Saturday declared MP Supriya Sule as their candidate from Maharashtra's Baramati Lok Sabha seat, amid speculation that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar could be fielded from there. The octogenarian leader made the announcement during a rally organised by the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi in Bhor tehsil of Pune district. Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT), an MVA constituent, was also present at the event. The Election Commission will announce the Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 14 or March 15, said Sharad Pawar. The EC has allotted man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet) symbol to his outfit. The elections will decide the future of our country. Nobody was so anxious about the future of the country so far, but now a change is needed. Today, PM Modi is not paying any attention towards farmer suicides. Instead, he is focussing all his attention only on Gujarat, he said. The NCP founder also accused the
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said being in power is important to expedite the developmental works as an elected representative and he has taken a different political stand without compromising on his ideology. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Pawar, who switched over to the ruling NDA last year, in a letter to his supporters on Monday said his objective was never to betray anyone or hurt anyone's sentiments. He said he found his working style similar to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, under whose leadership the country is making progress. "I have taken a different political stand without compromising on my ideology. I want to assure that henceforth the NCP under my leadership will work for implementing its development blueprint and not indulge in personal criticism of senior leaders," the deputy CM said without naming NCP founder and his uncle Sharad Pawar. "I have been on the ruling as well as the opposition side a
The Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar has claimed the Narendra Modi government bestowed the Bharat Ratna on eminent agricultural scientist late Dr MS Swaminathan to divert attention from its anti-farmer stance. One of the main demands of the farm outfits protesting currently is the implementation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism based on the formula of Swaminathan but the Centre was unwilling to implement it, NCP's Sharad Pawar faction national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said on Sunday. "It is more than two weeks since the current farmers' protest started. The farmers have been stopped by the government from entering Delhi and placing their demands. They protested in 2020-21 too and after many lives were lost, the government took back the three farm laws as demanded by the farmers," Crasto said in a statement. The Union government's move to give Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, to Swaminathan was to divert the attention from its anti-farmer
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the 'guarantee' or promises given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the people of the country was never fulfilled. He was speaking at the first gathering of the workers of the opposition's INDIA bloc in the city, a program which was also attended by Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir. "Today's gathering is historic. A change will be seen in Maharashtra and the country (in the coming elections). The prime minister is trying to take the country on a different path. The rulers of the country are not working for the betterment of the people. Farmers are in deep trouble," Pawar said. Farmers have been protesting against the Union government for more than a year but it is not paying attention to them, he claimed. "Where is Modi's guarantee today? PM Modi gave multiple assurances but they were never fulfilled," Pawar said. "PM Modi said in Bhopal that the NCP is a corrupt party. I challenge this ...
The Election Commission of India on Thursday allotted "man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet)" as the symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, the outfit's spokesperson Clyde Crasto said. "Our candidates will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on this symbol," he told PTI. The Sharad Pawar-founded NCP split in July last year after Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government. The ECI later gave the party name and 'clock' symbol to the faction led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
Earlier, Congress's Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala had said seat-sharing talks between the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) were in the last stage
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving various "guarantees" to farmers, but on the other cultivators are committing suicide due to growing debt. Addressing NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers at a conclave at Manchar in Ambegaon tehsil, the home turf of Maharashtra Cabinet minister Dilip Walse Patil in Pune district, the former Union agriculture minister painted a grim picture of the farm sector. "Today, farmers are facing hardships in the country. He toils hard but despite that he does not get remunerative price for his products. If input cost is high and output is low, then it leads to farmers getting debt-ridden and due to this situation, farmers take extreme steps. Such a scenario is currently prevalent in the country," said the veteran politician. Newspapers and television channels are full of advertisements where the PM is seen offering various "guarantees" to farmers such as good price and ...
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday claimed the mention of Adarsh housing scam in a white paper tabled in Parliament was kind of a "threat", prompting Ashok Chavan's exit from the Congress. Chavan, who joined the BJP last week, has denied such claims. He is an accused in the Adarsh housing society scam wherein a 31-storey posh building in south Mumbai was constructed allegedly on land owned by the Defence Ministry without getting the requisite permissions and clearances. The scandal led to Chavan's resignation as the Maharashtra's chief minister in 2010. Asked about Chavan's exit from the Congress, Pawar told reporters in Kolhapur that though the development was surprising for everyone, he was not surprised personally. "The reason is that the BJP had tabled a white paper on their last 10 years of performance and their opinions about the opposition. In that white paper, there was a mention of the Adarsh society and Ashok Chavan. After that mention, we assumed that it co
Rajya Sabha member Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said there are differences among some of the opposition INDIA bloc parties in a couple of states over issues including seat-sharing which senior leaders from other states would try to resolve. Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, the senior politician said a meeting of the INDIA alliance, formed by several opposition parties to take on the ruling BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, has not been convened of late. A decision was taken earlier that all the parties of the opposition bloc will work together, he said. "But majority of the parties in the alliance are limited to their states, so it was decided that all these parties will sit with other allied parties in their respective states and that process is going on," Pawar said. He noted there are differences among some the opposition alliance parties in a couple of states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. "In Uttar Pradesh, there is an absence of a common understanding over the ...
Senior politician Sharad Pawar has claimed fundamental rights are under attack in the country and the government is not bothered about progressive ideology. A united stand should be taken against "regressive" powers, he said addressing a function on Tuesday after unveiling the memorial of slain Leftist leader Govind Pansare in Maharashtra's Kolhapur city. "Today, power is being misused, free voice suppressed, restrictions are brought on free writing, and news channels are being blocked. This means those in power are not bothered about the attacks on fundamental rights," Pawar alleged. While "regressive" powers are rising in the country, rulers are not at all bothered about the progressive ideology, the NCP Sharadchandra Pawar chief said. He claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes to the Rajya Sabha for only 20 minutes when the issues of common people are discussed and policy decisions taken during Parliament sessions. "At the start of the session, (Prime Minister) bows down at
Sharad Pawar on Monday described as a victory of voters the Supreme Court ruling that his faction can use the name 'NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar' till further orders. It is a win for the voters as the court observed that the voters of the country should not be undermined and questioned what about the fact that candidates have fought on the ticket of the original party, Pawar said in a statement. The apex court on Monday directed that Election Commission's order of February 6 allotting 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders. On the auspicious day of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti, the Supreme Court has granted us interim relief against the order of the Election Commission of India. We bow down to the Supreme Court for recognising us as Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' in the interim, and having directed the Election Commission of India to consider our application for a symbol to
The Supreme Court on Monday directed that Election Commission's order of February 7 granting name of 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' for the group led by Sharad Pawar will continue till further orders. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan sought response of Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the February 7 order of Election Commission recognising the Maharashtra deputy chief minister-led group as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The bench gave liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allot it in one week of the application. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, said that order passed by the Election Commission on February 7 is an interim arrangement made by the poll panel for Rajya Sabha elections till February 27. The Maharashtra assembly session is scheduled to start from February 26 and our group will be without any name o
Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the verdicts given by the Election Commission and Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on the NCP matter were "unfair", and his faction would approach the Supreme Court to get back the party name and symbol. The Sharad Pawar-led group - now officially named as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) - suffered a setback on Thursday after speaker Narwekar held that the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, was the real NCP. He also rejected the disqualification petitions filed by both the rival groups against each other's MLAs. The ruling came days after the Election Commission held the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NCP and allotted him the party name and symbol 'clock'. "We had anticipated such a decision. The assembly speaker failed to maintain the dignity of his position. The decisions taken by the Election Commission and the speaker are unfair. Therefore, we are approaching the Supreme Court over the issue
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar reaffirmed Ajit Pawar's faction as the legitimate NCP and dismissed calls for the disqualification of either faction's lawmakers
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NCP founder Sharad Pawar on Thursday said his party belonged to the common people, and although it was going through difficult times today, nobody should worry about the challenges it was facing. He also stressed that there was a need to stay united and work towards improving the state's image. Pawar was addressing the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) group's convention of young women in Mumbai hours before Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar passed his verdict on the disqualification of the rival NCP factions. The speaker held that the Ajit Pawar-led group was the real NCP when two factions emerged in July 2023, and dismissed disqualification petitions filed by both the factions, one each led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar. During the function, Pawar said the decision to form the NCP was made in this same hall 25 years ago, and lakhs of party workers across the state came forward to support the cause. "NCP is a party of common people. Today, it is facing .
Party members have clarified that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP will continue to participate in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance
Election Commission concluded that the Ajit Pawar faction had the majority support of 57 out 81 MLAs, granting it the NCP name and 'clock' symbol
Rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution are under attack and this poses a significant threat to the democratic fabric of the nation, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar said on Monday. Addressing an 'Elgar Parishad' gathering in Ulhasnagar in Thane district, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks in Parliament were superficial and trivial and decried attacks on Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first PM, and Babasaheb Ambedkar, principal architect of the Constitution. "Two days ago in Parliament, we heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech. In the entire speech, he criticised and attacked Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who had spent six to seven years in jail before Independence. After Independence, he took Dr Ambedkar along and built a democratic country. The attack was made on the policies and decisions taken by that person," Pawar claimed. Such attacks are not merely directed at individuals but represent a broader assault on the ...
As founder of NCP, Sharad Pawar is a man in a hurry, torn between rebuilding from the wreckage or aligning with the BJP for a last shot at political survival