NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar upped the ante against his estranged nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Tuesday, virtually accusing him of splitting the family for political gains. While campaigning for his grandnephew and NCP (SP) nominee from the Baramati assembly segment, Yugendra Pawar, the Pawar senior mimicked Ajit, who had turned emotional one day earlier over Yugendra's candidature at a rally.
Sharad Pawar's theatrics, pretending to dab his eyes with a handkerchief in the middle of the speech, brought on a peal of laughter from the audience. Elections for 288 seats in Maharashtra will be held on November 20. The votes will be counted three days later.
Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar on Monday told a rally here that it is the seniors' responsibility, "the fracture of house, I mean it should be avoided". He was refereeing to the candidature field by Jugendra. "My parents and brothers never taught me sinning by splitting the house", said Sharad Pawar at a Kanheri town near Baramati rally.
"People assigned me the responsibility of heading Maharashtra a long time back. I am now a guide and have handed over the party affairs to the next generation," he said. Driving home the uncertainties of politics, the former Union minister said one should not desert his colleagues for the sake of securing power for oneself.
Unhappily, when we (NCP) were not in power, some of our colleagues suddenly woke up at dawn and took oath. That government did not last for even four days," Pawar said. Significantly, Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister when he was a member of the opposition NCP (undivided) with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as CM at Raj Bhavan amidst a political tug-of-war over the formation of a government, post the 2019 assembly elections.
"He (Ajit) went to the other side to secure the deputy chief minister's post despite having served as Deputy CM four times. You got the position most of the time. If you fail to get the position only once, will you break the house (family)?" Sharad Pawar asked.
Now it is being said that I broke the family. It is a funny thing to hear, he added. The veteran politician underlined that he never created a rift in the Pawar clan and everyone listened to him as the family head.
"I never did anything by going against anyone and will never do so. Whosoever takes any stand hereafter, I will not go on the wrong track. I will ensure that my family will remain united," Sharad Pawar added. Targeting Ajit, the Pawar senior referred to the former's speech at a rally.
It was said that I had broken the family. My parents and brothers never taught me the sin of breaking the family. All my brothers, including Anantrao Pawar, father of Ajit Pawar, stayed with me, he added. Sharad Pawar remembered how his family members took care of domestic issues and farming as he concentrated on politics in Maharashtra and at the national level.
"I could concentrate on my work due to the favours of my brothers. I will not discriminate against their children," he said. He pointed out that there is a "change of language" that Ajit Pawar has employed from campaigning for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat to the present emotive pitch.
Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar lost her maiden electoral contest from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency to her sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule. "During Lok Sabha polls, people were told (by Ajit) not to fall prey to emotion. People were told that Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) would shed tears and seek votes (for his daughter Supriya Sule),.
"You might have seen in yesterday's speech…. " he said even as he took out a handkerchief pretending to wipe tears, mimicking Ajit. Pawar claimed he offered positions as ministers to several leaders but didn't entrust Supriya Sule with a single position. The Pawar senior also said he was dragged to the court as the name and symbol of the NCP founded by him were allotted to the other faction.
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