Will you split family for power ambitions? Sharad Pawar slams Ajit

Pune: Sharad Pawar held back little on Tuesday when he accused nephew Ajit Pawar of splitting the family to pursue his political ambitions. While campaigning in Baramati for his grand-nephew, Yugendra Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) candidate, party chief Sharad Pawar took a jab at Ajit, who is Deputy Chief Minister in the ruling Mahayuti government. During his address, Pawar Senior paused to mimic Ajit, who had become emotional over Yugendra’s candidacy at a recent rally. Pretending to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief, Pawar Senior drew laughter from the audience.

The assembly elections have turned the spotlight on the growing rift in the Pawar family once again. At a rally on Monday, Ajit Pawar had hinted that “seniors” should have prevented the family conflict. He also claimed that Yugendra had entered the fray despite his mother’s reluctance, with Pawar Senior playing a crucial role. Sharad Pawar, while addressing a crowd in Kanheri near Baramati, responded by saying, “My parents and brothers never taught me to break the family.”

The senior politician underscored his role as mentor, having handed over party responsibilities to the younger generation. On the transient nature of political power, he remarked that “one should not abandon colleagues to secure personal gains”.

Sharad Pawar recalled the time when certain NCP members joined a government formed in the early hours, an arrangement that lasted only a few days. He was referring to Ajit Pawar’s brief dalliance with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis after the 2019 elections.

Naming his nephew directly, Pawar Senior said, “Ajit has served as Deputy Chief Minister four times. If he missed out once, would he still break the family?”

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar on Tuesday claimed that the Final Assembly Line (FAL) of Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus in Gujarat was to be set up in Maharashtra but was shifted at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis refuted this.

According to Fadnavis, the MOU for the project was signed in September 2021 when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Uddhav Thackeray was in power. “At this age, there is no need to lie so much… Sometimes Gujarat and sometimes Karnataka were number one in attracting investments. Today, they (opposition) are a little more upset when Maharashtra is number one. However, before the false narrative is set, Maharashtra needs to be told the truth once again…” Fadnavis said, in a long post on social media platform, X.

Pawar said that Ratan Tata wanted the project to be established in Maharashtra, and in consultation with him, a 500-acre plot in the Nagpur MIDC area was earmarked for it. This was during the Manmohan Singh-led government, of which I was a part, Pawar said. “Our government changed and when Modi became PM, he called Tata and told him to set up the factory in Gujarat.”