'You barely survived...': Ajit Pawar's jibe at nephew Rohit
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar recently poked fun at his nephew Rohit Pawar's narrow win in the Maharashtra assembly elections. The two were at the memorial of Maharashtra's first chief minister, YB Chavan, in Karad. "Come, take my blessings. You barely survived (in retaining the seat). Had I held a rally (in Karjat Jamkhed), imagine what would have happened," Ajit told Rohit.
Rohit Pawar acknowledges Ajit's influence on election outcome
Rohit, the grandnephew of Nationalist Congress Party-Socialist Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar, won his Karjat Jamkhed seat by a slim margin of 1,243 votes against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ram Shinde. Responding to his uncle's comment, Rohit admitted that Ajit's absence due to his campaign in Baramati could have worked in his favor. "It is true that had my uncle held a rally in Karjat Jamkhed, things would have been different," he said.
Rohit Pawar credits Ajit for past support, upholds Chavan's values
Despite their political differences, Rohit described Ajit as a "father figure" and credited him for his support during the 2019 elections. He emphasized the importance of following traditions and values imparted by Chavan. In the recent elections, Ajit retained his Baramati seat by defeating NCP-SP candidate Yugendra Pawar by over one lakh votes.
NCP outperforms NCP-SP in Maharashtra assembly elections
The Ajit-led NCP also did well in the elections, winning 41 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly. The Sharad-headed NCP-SP, on the other hand, could only win 10 seats. Meanwhile, the BJP was the single-largest party in the elections with 132 seats. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena had modest success with 20 seats while the Eknath Shinde faction won 57 seats.
