NCP-SP leaders remarks came after the the BJP-led ruling Mahayuti alliance sweeped the assembly polls in Maharashtra

Sharad Pawar defended fielding Yugendra against Ajit Pawar in Baramati despite the latter's dominant win. Acknowledging his faction's poor performance with just 10 seats, Pawar credited the Mahayuti's women-centric Ladki Bahin scheme for its electoral success.

Ajit Pawar's NCP faction has emerged as the third-largest party in the state with 41 seats, trailing the BJP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. In contrast, Sharad Pawar's faction managed to win just 10 seats.

Ajit Pawar's NCP won 41 seats out of the 59 seats it contested and took a vote share of 9.01 per cent. The Sharad Pawar faction could win just 10 seats.

The MVA’s debilitating loss and within that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP)'s poor performance raises a question: What is the party's future considering he is at a ripe age of 83 years?

Sharad Pawar’s faction may have garnered a higher vote share at 11.29 percent compared to Ajit Pawar’s 9.01 percent, but this support didn’t translate into seats.

In his first reaction after MVA's rout in the Assembly polls, Sharad Pawar, the leader of NCP (SP), acknowledged that his nephew Ajit Pawar won 41 seats and said that everyone knew who founded the NCP.

Ajit Pawar defeated his nephew Yugendra Pawar, who was endorsed by 83-year-old Sharad Pawar, by a margin of over 1 lakh votes.

The results settled the debate over which NCP faction wields greater electoral clout after the erstwhile party split in July last year