Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar lauded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for its unwavering dedication to ideology and called on his party to foster a similarly committed cadre base rooted in the progressive ideals of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and Yashwantrao Chavan.
Speaking at a party workers’ meeting in South Mumbai on Thursday, Pawar emphasized the RSS’s ability to maintain ideological loyalty, urging the NCP-SP to emulate this dedication for advancing social progress.
Reflecting on the party’s poor performance in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, Pawar said, “We became complacent after our success in the Lok Sabha polls, while the ruling alliance immediately worked to address their setbacks.” Despite winning eight out of ten Lok Sabha seats it contested, the NCP-SP secured only ten out of nearly 90 seats in the assembly elections.
Pawar acknowledged a failure to effectively communicate the party’s contributions to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), a crucial vote bank. He also stressed the urgency of addressing the caste divide in Marathwada, particularly following the custodial death of a Dalit man in Parbhani and the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed.
Recalling his leadership during the Marathwada University renaming controversy as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Pawar emphasized the importance of direct engagement and social engineering to tackle current challenges.
In a bid to rejuvenate the party, Pawar announced that 50% of tickets for the upcoming local body elections will be given to new faces and hinted at a major organizational overhaul.
The NCP-SP, a crucial component of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), is now aiming to regroup and re-strategize for the battles ahead.
