‘Narayak’ Ajit Pawar scolded by brother for abandoning Uncle Sharad

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle, NCP founder Sharad Pawar (file photo).

New Delhi:

Ajit Pawar may be the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, but that has not stopped his brother Shrinivas Pawar from exercising his elder brother’s prerogatives ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which comes as a scathing rebuke.

A video of Mr Pawar’s rebuke has been circulated online. In it, Shrinivas Pawar distanced himself from his brother and labeled him “Narayak“, or “worthless”. He also accused him of abandoning their uncle Sharad Pawar when the veteran politician needed him the most. “I personally think that there is no one better than him (Ajit Pawar) More useless people,” Mr Pawar told reporters.

Not insignificantly, he was injected while visiting a temple in Baramati, Maharashtra, the family’s stronghold. Sharad Pawar was elected to the seat six times, including four consecutive wins from 1996 to 2004. The seat has since been held by his daughter Supriya Sule.

Ms Sule is likely to face off against Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra in the 2024 elections.

“I have always followed Ajit… in all situations. I support decisions and never question him. Many people here know me (Bararmati)… I grew up here. When I discussed with Ajit , I told him, “You keep running for MLA with Baramati and keep Lok Sabha under Pawar Saheb’s leadership… because we are grateful to him for various things he has done for us. I don’t feel comfortable with him being alone at 83 years old. “

The elder Pawar also said that 83-year-old Sharad Pawar had done a lot for the family.

“Some of our friends told me that the future belongs to Ajit and not Sharad… but the thought is very painful. (I don’t want) to think of leaving someone behind in old age… someone who can make us People who benefit. In my personal opinion, if a person has such an idea, he is an incompetent person.”

Things are not over yet for Shrinivas Pawar. He also accused Ajit of standing on his uncle’s shoulders for political gain and then cast him aside before seemingly signaling a break with his brother.

“It is like depriving the owner of the house after acquiring land ownership. We all know that whoever gets a position in politics… it is because of Sharad Pawar. Like medicines (which have an expiration date), some Relationships also expire. I’m 60 years old…I can’t live under pressure,” he said.

Shrinivas Pawar’s swipe at his brother stung, but it’s unlikely to be an accident. Last month, the deputy first minister said: “My whole family will be against me now. They will be campaigning against me… but my workers are my family now.”

This particular Pawar vs. Pawar spat comes at a time when Ajit Pawar’s faction has suffered a setback in the Supreme Court battle over the integral NCP clock symbol. It and the NCP’s name were awarded to Ajit Pawar by the Election Commission but the Sharad Pawar camp challenged the award.

Read | ‘Mockery of the electorate’: Supreme Court at Pawar v. Pawar hearing

The court has now said that Ajit Pawar’s camp obtained the logo but only with a proper disclaimer in all cases of use. The court also questioned whether the poll panel recognized Ajit Pawar’s camp as the “real” NCP, just as it recognized Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Sena as the “real Shiv Sena”.

In July last year, Pawar Jr. forced an internal break in the Nationalist Congress party founded and led by Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar leads more than 40 MLAs into the arms of the Bharatiya Janata Party, strengthening the BJP-Shinde Shiv Sena faction’s push against the Malay Control of Harashtra State Government.

Read | Some ‘not ready to retire’: Nephew Ajit targets uncle Sharad again

From then on, the uncle and nephew started barbs at each other. In January, Ajit Pawar attacked Sharad Pawar for not resigning as party chief as per his promise. “Some people don’t retire…” he declared.

Read | ‘I am not old’: NCP boss Sharad Pawar slams critics of age mining

The split in the Pawar family has also added to the problems of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, a mismatched alliance (ostensibly) between the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena group led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Experienced its own civil war almost exactly a year ago.

Input from ANI

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channel. click the link Get all the latest updates from NDTV in your chat.