Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday urged Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar to pass on the baton to the new generation, pointing to the retirement age of government servants and BJP leaders.Ajit Pawar said that new people should be given a chance to lead the party. "In other parties, leaders retire after a age. You should also give chance to new people. If we make some mistakes, tell us. Your age is 83, will you ever stop or not? You give us blessings," he said. Without naming his cousin and MP Supriya Sule, whose elevation as NCP's working president was seen as a snub to him, Ajit Pawar said, "Is it our fault that we weren't born in a powerful family?"Ajit Pawar also referred to the veteran leader's shock resignation - and his retraction two days later.
"On May 2, he said that I will step down and make a committee under Praful Patel, Jayant Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Bhujbal, Mushrif etc. That time he wanted to make Supriya Sule as national president. We were ready for that too. If you wanted to take back the resignation, why did you resign in the first place?" Ajit Pawar asked. Addressing the party workers at MET College in Bandra, Pawar said his faction is joining hands with the BJP for the development of the state and the fund for the MLAs.He also expressed his desire to become the Maharashtra chief minister to “implement certain plans I have for people's welfare.”hhagan Bhujbal of Ajit Pawar's camp earlier claimed that more than 40 MLAs are with him but some of them couldn't be present at the venue because were either “stuck in traffic or were in other states.” "More than 40 MLAs are here with us, some of them are stuck in traffic, some are in other states, but they have signed affidavits. It's true that people will ask about (legal) action after this... We have taken all things into consideration before taking this step," Bhujbal said. Meanwhile, the factional fight has reached the doorstep of the Election Commission with the group led by Ajit Pawar filing over 40 affidavits of MLAs and MPs in his support.The Sharad Pawar camp has filed a caveat with the poll authority urging it to hear them first before passing any directive in connection with the factional fight, Election Commission sources said.