‘Some people in 80s not ready to retire’, says Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Who is he hinting at?

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday took a veiled jibe at his uncle Sharad Pawar, saying some people who are in their 80s are not ready to retire.

"Employees of Maharashtra government retire at the age of 58. Most people normally stop their active professional life after turning 75. But there are a few (Sharad Pawar) who, even after crossing 80 years of age and now 84, are not ready to retire," PTI quoted the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, who was addressing a gathering of party workers in Thane.

On July 2 last year, Ajit Pawar vertically split the party founded by his uncle two decades ago, to join the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra. He took oath as the deputy chief minister for the third time since 2019.

The 64-year-old leader had staged a coup days after Pawar Sr. had appointed his daughter Supriya Sule and Praful Patel as working presidents of the party. However, Patel later joined Ajit's faction.

"We are here to work and we can perform," Ajit Pawar said, adding that he joined the state government to serve the people whose problems and other issues cannot be solved without power.

Ajit Pawar appealed to NCP workers of his faction to unite ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, showcasing party's strength in the district, and supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's candidacy for a third term.

His statement comes days after Sharad Pawar said that the political situation is not favourable for the BJP.

“BJP is in power. They have set up an aggressive campaign system. BJP is working like Hitler's propaganda system in Germany. BJP leaders may have set a target of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543, but the political situation is not favourable for the BJP,” ANI quoted the NCP founder as saying.