A day after NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar mocked and mimicked his nephew, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday hit back, saying that it was not right on the part of his uncle to do so as he (Ajit Pawar) had gotten emotional while remembering his mother.
"I always considered Sharad Pawar as God but he mimicked my speech by wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.". Sharad Pawar is an old warhorse, battle-hardened and seasoned politician. Many people did not like it after he mocked me. It would have been all right if it had been done by Yogendra Pawar (who is the NCP(SP) nominee against Uncle Ajit Pawar in Baramati) or others. I got a bit emotional after taking my mother's name. I broke into tears, and it was a natural one. Sometimes it happens. I did not take out my handkerchief, but he did that," said Ajit Pawar.
"For so long, I thought that only Raj Thackeray mimics, but yesterday 'Saheb' (Sharad Pawar) mimicked me," the Dy CM said. He reiterated that his estranged uncle should not have done it, saying, "I really feel very bad."
According to insiders from NCP and NCP(SP), the war of words between the uncle and nephew will be witnessed quite often as the campaign progresses. NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar's move to field his grand nephew Yogendra Pawar has hurt Ajit Pawar the most.
While NCP functionaries close to Ajit Pawar claim that the party chief will certainly win the Assembly election from Baramati, they also admit that the party will have to take into account that Supriya Sule had got a lead of 47,381 votes from the Baramati Assembly seat during the Lok Sabha elections. They further said that Ajit Pawar and the party's rank and file will have to strive to meet that gap so that he gets a comfortable lead.
Even though Ajit Pawar has worked hard to implement a slew of development projects in Baramati, it is not enough as he will once again have to convince voters, especially youth, about his move to align with BJP and Shiv Sena by deserting Sharad Pawar, said a senior party leader.
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar said he would travel extensively around the state to address rallies for party nominees instead of being confined to his Baramati seat. "Instead of focusing on merely campaigning in my Baramati seat, I shall conduct rallies in other parts of Maharashtra," he said adding: "I shall spend a few days in Baramati from November 1 to 3 which coincide with Diwali celebrations and then move about".
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