With most of his trusted aides busy with the State Assembly elections and several others having defected to the BJP or Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar has been fighting a lonely battle of survival at the age of 78.
"Pawar saheb had his tongue operated on recently. He has been advised by the doctors not to travel too much or speak, but he is still campaigning," said a senior NCP leader on the condition of anonymity.
"What I will do sitting at home? I get inspiration by meeting the youth. They energise me. Therefore, I have maintained the practice of meeting people and understanding their problems," Pawar said.
Dhananjay Munde, Leader of Opposition and NCP MLC claims that Pawar has been getting a good response from the citizens. "It is great to see the kind of response Pawar saheb gets from the youth.
Despite being younger, we often get tired but I admire his stamina and like to learn from him. He is trying to connect with those who have been ignored by the incumbent government," said Munde.