NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday exhorted his party workers to be ready for the Maharashtra assembly elections due later this year and claimed the power of the state will be in their hands after the polls.

He was addressing the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers as the party celebrated its 25th foundation day at its office here, days after his outfit won 8 out of 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested from Maharashtra as part of the opposition alliance in the 2024 general polls.

Pawar hoisted his party's flag in the presence of his daughter and Baramati NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, other leaders and workers.

"In the last 25 years, we worked towards spreading the party's ideology and and let's work together to take it ahead. In the next three months, the state assembly elections will take place and it is our collective responsibility to work towards it as after the polls, the power of the state will be in your hands," the NCP founder said.

Pawar formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999 after breaking away from the Congress.

The NCP split in July last year after Ajit Pawar and some other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state.

In February this year, the Election Commission announced the Ajit Pawar faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party and allotted the NCP symbol ‘clock’ to the group.

The NCP (SP) of Sharad Pawar was later allotted the symbol of “man blowing turha” (a traditional trumpet) to contest polls.

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