Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar refuted claims of a discord with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, emphasizing that their working relationship remains intact. Speculations arose when Pawar did not visit ‘Varsha,’ the official bungalow of the Chief Minister in Mumbai, during the recent Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. Additionally, Pawar refrained from commenting on the possibility of his wife, Sunetra, contesting from Baramati in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Pawar addressed the situation, stating, “I could not make it to the chief minister’s official bungalow during the Ganesh aarti as I was busy visiting Ganesh mandals in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune city. I did not do it deliberately.” During a media interaction in Baramati, where he had launched a cleanliness drive on Gandhi Jayanti, Pawar clarified further, “I must have visited 60 Ganesh mandals in Pimpri-Chinchwad and 15 in Pune city. I also visited Lalbaugcha (Raja) Ganpati and Siddhivinayak in Mumbai. Therefore, I could not go there (CM’s bungalow). Please do not blow up the news unnecessarily.” Regarding the possibility of his wife Sunetra’s candidacy in the Baramati constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Pawar replied, “I am hearing this from you.”
Pawar also denied any disagreement with minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal during an official meeting last week. Bhujbal had expressed concerns that OBCs were not receiving job opportunities, pointing out that despite government job vacancies, recruitment was not taking place. Pawar clarified, “There was no dispute with Bhujbal. When he presented some figures, I asked him whether the information was accurate. Then I asked the chief secretary whether people from this category (OBC) were employed by the state government. The chief secretary stated that the government does not possess complete information about it. Consequently, I suggested to Bhujbal that we should gather the information first.”
When questioned about the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s notice to Baramati Agro, headed by MLA Rohit Pawar, a member of the Sharad Pawar faction within the NCP, Ajit Pawar responded, “The notice is not deliberately sent to anyone. The agency sending notices is simply performing its duty. Once we respond to the notice, the matter concludes. There is no need to impart a political connotation to this. Even my unit has received such a notice. While operating a unit, it is crucial to consider the environment.”