Made a mistake by fielding my wife against my sister in LS polls: Ajit Pawar
MUMBAI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday admitted that it was a mistake to field his wife Sunetra against his cousin Supriya Sule in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. He said it was the decision of his party’s parliamentary board, but now he thinks it was a wrong decision.
Ajit Pawar, who is on a statewide ‘Jan Samman Yatra’ of his party, expressed regret over allowing politics to infiltrate family affairs. “One should not allow politics to enter home. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn't have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong,” he said.
Sunetra had lost the Lok Sabha election against Ms. Sule by the margin of over 1,58,000 votes. Ms Sule won the Baramati seat for the fourth successive time with a vote share of 51.85 per cent. However, Sunetra was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.
When asked if he would visit his cousin on Raksha Bandhan next week, Ajit Pawar said he is currently on a tour and that if he and his sisters are at one place that day, he will surely meet them.
In another indication that he does not want bitterness between him and his uncle to escalate further, Ajit said that Sharad Pawar is his senior and the head of the Pawar family. “I will not respond to any criticism from Pawar saheb. I would only speak about development and welfare schemes for farmers, women, and youth. I will not keep answering criticism against me,” he said.
Referring to Shiv Sena and BJP leaders criticising Sharad Pawar, the Maharashtra DCM said that his alliance partners should also understand what they speak. “I voice my opinion (on such issues) whenever we sit together for a meeting,” he said.
Ajit had parted ways with his uncle and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra along with 40 NCP MLAs leading to a verticle split in the party. The Election Commission later declared the Ajit faction as the real NCP and allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use the name ‘NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).