‘Will you break family for power?’ Sharad turns up the heat on Ajit

Baramati: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar slammed his estranged nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Tuesday, virtually accusing him of breaking the family for his political ambitions.

Campaigning for his grandnephew and NCP (SP) nominee from the Baramati assembly segment, Yugendra Pawar, Sharad mimicked Ajit, who a day earlier became emotional over Yugendra’s candidature at a rally. Sharad’s action of pretending to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief in the middle of the speech evoked a peal of laughter from the audience.

Addressing a rally on Monday, Baramati MLA Ajit alleged that “seniors” should have ensured that a family rift is avoided, referencing Yugendra’s candidature. “My parents and brothers never taught me the sin of breaking the house (family),” Sharad said while addressing a rally at Kanheri town near Baramati. “People tasked me with leading Maharashtra a long time ago. I am now a mentor and have entrusted the party affairs to the new generation,” he said.

Underscoring the uncertainties of politics, the former Union minister said one should not leave his colleagues for the sake of securing power for oneself.

“Unfortunately, when we (NCP) were not in power, some of our colleagues suddenly woke up at dawn and took oath. That government didn’t last for even four days,” Pawar said.

Ajit took oath as the Deputy CM when he was a member of the Opposition NCP (undivided) with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as CM at Raj Bhavan amid 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 asked.