Sharad Pawar pays tribute to mentor Yashwantrao Chavan on Guru Purnima; A day after party split

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday visited the memorial of his mentor and Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad and paid floral tributes to him.

The 82-year-old leader's visit to late Chavan's memorial on the occasion of Guru Purnima is being seen as a show of strength by him, a day after his nephew Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP to become the deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-BJP government.

Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he was undeterred by his nephew Ajit Pawar's rebellion and would start afresh by going among the people.

He left from Pune for Karad on Monday morning and stopped along the way to meet supporters who lined up on roadsides to greet him and extend support to him.

In Karad, Sharad Pawar was welcomed by thousands of supporters and local MLA Balasaheb Patil.

Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who hails from Karad, was also present.