Sharad Pawar birthday: Here are top 10 quotes by the NCP chief

Sharad Pawar. File Pic

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar turns 82 on December 12. Pawar, a four-time chief minister of Maharashtra and a former Union Minister is also known as the architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprising of Shiv Sena-Congress and NCP.

It was in 1956, when Sharad Pawar called for a protest march on Goan Independence in Pravaranagar,Maharashtra. This marked the beginning of Pawar's first such recorded political activism. He joined Youth Congress in 1958 and just four years after joining the party, Pawar went on to become the President of the Pune district Youth Congress. In 1967, when he was only 27-years-old, Pawar was nominated as a candidate for Assembly elections from Baramati constituency in Maharashtra. In 1999, Sharad Pawar along with P A Sangma founded Nationalist Congress Party.

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On his birthday, here are top 10 quotes reportedly said by one of the foremost opposition leaders in India.

"In politics one should not expect big jumps. Everything takes time."

"In my long innings, I have seen many sunrises and many sunsets; many good and bad times."

"Whether some may like it or not, I am still the farmer that I was born as and will continue to be one."

"If an industrialist can sell his products anywhere in India and the world, why should a farmer not be allowed to do so?"

"I entered the Indian politics in 1967; since then, continuously, I am getting elected. Fortunately, I never lost the elections."

"Whatever I feel, I say frankly."

"I am fully aware that everybody has a right to succeed, and success should be with ethics."

"Emotionally, a person is tied to the land of his birth. It's only human."

"I think criticism of good work should stop somewhere."

"Congress is a power-oriented party."