NCP workers seek Bharat Ratna for Sharad Pawar, start signature campaign

NCP workers in Thane in Maharashtra on Monday started a signature campaign demanding Bharat Ratna for party patriarch and former Union minister Sharad Pawar.

The campaign was started by the NCP's social justice cell led by its Thane city chief Kailas Hawle under the guidance of Mumbra-Kalwa MLA Jitendra Awhad, said a party functionary.

A hoarding has been put up at the entrance of Thane railway station, among the busiest in the country, and workers have been asking people their opinion on the demand and requesting those in agreement to sign.

"We have collected signatures of 9,720 people in three hours," an NCP worker claimed.

The Maratha strongman, born on December 12, 1940 in Baramati in Pune district, is widely respected for his political acumen by leaders cutting across party lines.

NCP leaders credit the party's return to power in the state, along with the Congress and their new ally Shiv Sena by forming the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last month, to Pawar.