NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday attributed Mahayuti’s victory in Maharashtra assembly polls to factors such as the Ladki Bahin scheme, significant voter turnout among women, and religious polarisation.

Speaking in Karad city, Satara district, Pawar admitted the results announced on Saturday were unexpected but vowed to revitalise his party. Responding to questions about his retirement, he firmly stated that any decision on the matter would be taken collectively with his colleagues.

Pawar admitted NCP faction was led by his nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, he remarked, “Everyone knows who founded the NCP”. “The Ladki Bahin scheme and religious polarisation played a role. Women’s participation in large numbers could be the reason for the Mahayuti sweep in Maharashtra. We will study the reasons for the debacle and take necessary steps,” he said, news agency PTI reported.

Pawar made his assertion that the NCP (SP) would reconnect with the public and re-energise his new leadership. On questions about EVMs, following Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s concerns over the Mahayuti’s landslide win, Pawar said he would only comment if supported by official data.

MVA Coalition Put In Lot Of Hard Work But Desired Results Were Not Achieved: Sharad Pawar

Pawar’s NCP faction faced a significant setback, winning just 10 of the 288 assembly seats, marking the worst performance of his political career. In comparison, Ajit Pawar’s NCP secured 41 seats. The Mahayuti alliance emerged dominant, with the BJP winning 132 seats, Shiv Sena (Shinde) 57, and NCP (Ajit Pawar) 41, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed only 46 seats.

Sharad Pawar stated that the poll outcome he had witnessed in his public life was unusual. “The MVA coalition put in a lot of hard work but the desired results were not achieved even though people responded positively to MVA during campaigning,” the NCP (SP) chief added.

Pawar expressed that MVA was extremely confident of achieving success in the Lok Sabha elections. Over the question about his poll defeat, Pawar explained, “The poll results were declared yesterday. Today I am in Karad. Those who were demoralised would have sat at home”.

He also said fielding his grandnephew Yugendra Pawar against Ajit Pawar on the home turf of Baramati wasn’t a wrong decision as someone had to contest the elections.

He proudly admitted to fielding his grandnephew Yugendra Pawar against Ajit Pawar on the home turf of Baramati and said that it wasn’t a wrong decision as someone had to fight against him in the elections.

Yugendra Pawar was defeated by Ajit Pawar by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes. “Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar cannot be compared. We were aware of this fact,” Sharad Pawar added. 

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