NCP's Sharad Pawar responds to nephew Ajit's age barb: '82 or 92, I'm still effective'

A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar advised his uncle Sharad Pawar to take a rest from politics, the NCP supremo on Thursday said that regardless of his age, he is still effective. "82 or 92, I'm still effective," he said at a meeting of the party's national executive in Delhi. 

Sharad Pawar also said that he is still the party chief. "I am the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)," Pawar said a day after nephew Ajit Pawar asserted himself as the leader of the party, flanked by several MLAs in a major show of strength in Mumbai.

On Wednesday, during the first mega meeting of party leaders after joining the NDA, Ajit Pawar reminded his 83-year-old uncle that it was time for him to retire. "In BJP, leaders retire at 75, when are you going to stop," Ajit Pawar said, speaking at the meeting convened by him in Bandra as a show of strength. "Everybody has his innings. The most productive years are from 25 to 75 years," 63-year-old Ajit Pawar said.

He also blamed Sharad Pawar for NCP losing out on the chance to have a chief minister in 2004. "We had more MLAs than Congress in 2004, but our senior leader allowed Congress to bag the CM's post," he said. 

"For us, Saheb (Sharad Pawar) is a deity and we have deep respect for him, he said. IAS officers retire at 60. Even in politics, BJP leaders retire at 75. You can see the example of L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi," Ajit Pawar said.

"You are 83, aren't you going to stop? Give us your blessings and we will pray that you live a long life," Ajit Pawar said.