Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar attracted headlines, in a lighter vein, towards his nephew Rohit Pawar on Monday over the recently held assembly elections. Ajit Pawar suggested that had he campaigned in Rohit’s constituency, the latter might have struggled to win.
In the recently concluded elections, Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, retained his Karjat Jamkhed seat in the Ahilyanagar district, defeating BJP candidate Ram Shinde by a mere 1,243 votes.
The exchange occurred at a commemorative rally in honour of Y.B. Chavan which both Rohit and Ajit Pawar were attending. In a moment of family banter, the senior Pawar congratulated Rohit while inviting him to seek his blessings: “Come, take my blessings. You barely survived (in retaining the seat). Had I held a rally in Karjat Jamkhed, imagine what would have happened.”
Notwithstanding the humorous comment, Rohit Pawar later pointed out the respect he has for Ajit, referring to him as a “father figure.” He mentioned their political differences but at the same time acknowledged the immense help Ajit provided in the 2019 elections. “In this land that belongs to Chavan Saheb, the tradition and values he imparted must be followed,” he further said.
When asked about the comments made by Ajit Pawar, Rohit said that things would have been different if his uncle had held a rally in Karjat Jamkhed. “But he was busy in Baramati and could not spare time to come to the constituency,” Rohit explained.
However, Ajit Pawar later downplayed his previous statements and said, “I did not say that. I only congratulated him and wished that he succeeds in his future too.”
In the same election, Ajit Pawar won the Baramati constituency with a margin of more than one lakh votes while defeating NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar, who is also his nephew.
