MUMBAI: The meeting of nephew Ajit Pawar and uncle Sharad Pawar in Delhi on the occasion of senior Pawar’s 85th birthday sparked the speculations of two Pawars coming together in state politics.Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, his spouse Sunetra Pawar, NCP leader Praful Patel, NCP state president Sunil Tatkare, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal met NCP (SP) president and former union minister Sharad Pawar at his Delhi residence to greet him on his 85th birthday. Sharad Pawar’s grand-nephew Yugendra Pawar however said that this meeting should not be read politically, it was a family gathering on the occasion of Pawar saheb’s birthday in Delhi.Ajit Pawar after breaking with his uncle Sharad Pawar, claimed control over his uncle party, and its symbol and contested the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections separately. In Lok Sabha polls, Ajit Pawar pitted his spouse Sunetra Pawar against his sister Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar in Baramati Lok Sabha seat election where Sunetra Pawar lost by over 1.50 lakh margin against Ms Sule. The bitterness further spread when Ajit Pawar’s nephew Yugendra Pawar contested against him in state polls from Baramati state polls. During the campaign, Ajit Pawar alleged Sharad Pawar broke his family by fielding his own nephew against him. In Lok Sabha polls, Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction won eight seats while Ajit Pawar’s NCP won only one seat. In the state polls, Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 41 seats while Sharad Pawar’s faction won only ten seats.It was told that it was a pre-planned meeting between two Pawar’s. Earlier, NCP leader Praful Patel also met Mr Sharad Pawar in Delhi.Senior NCP leader said that the Pawar family is a very matured family politically, they understand the difference between family and politics very well therefore they forgot all the bitterness that was spread during the election campaign. He said, both Pawar can come together at any given day, but senior Pawar will not directly join hands with BJP. “The ten elected MLAs of NCP SP are also in touch with Ajit Pawar and they can come any day to NCP. But we do not need to disturb the current set of politics because Mahayuti has got a massive mandate, so this government has no issue of stability plus there are no chances of realignment. But we will keep the cordial relationship with our other factions. The reason, in politics, we do not know what will happen next. Everything is very uncertain,” he said, requesting anonymity.Another leader said that BJP may use this proximity of two Pawar’s to keep the check over deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde who is upset over denying top post and now allocations of key portfolios to his party. “If Eknath Shinde threatens to withdraw his seven Lok Sabha MPs’ support in Delhi, then Sharad Pawar’s eight Lok Sabha MPs can come in handy in critical situations. This will not only reduce Shinde’s bargaining power but put him in an opaque situation in state and centre politics,” he pointed out.
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