Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Had I campaigned in your seat, imagine what would have happened: Ajit Pawar to nephew Rohit

Mumbai: After the election fireworks and war-of-words, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar came face-to-face with his uncle and NCP President Ajit Pawar at Satara - and what followed were peels of laughter.

The uncle and nephew were separately visiting the memorial of Maharashtra's first Chief Minister and former Deputy Prime Minister Yashwantrao Chavan on his death anniversary at Pritisangam in Karad in Satara district.

Rohit Pawar, who is from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), won the elections from the Karjat-Jamkhed seat in Ahmednagar district for the second time - defeating BJP MLC Prof Ram Shinde by a slender margin of 1,243 votes.

Rohit Pawar had accompanied Sharad Pawar to the memorial.

When he was coming out, Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister, was entering the memorial complex.

Ajit Pawar shook hands with him and said - “…abinandhan (congratulations)…take darshan….darshan…darshan of kaka” - after which Rohit Pawar bowed down and touched his feet.

“You barely survived…had I held a rally (in Karjat Jamkhed), imagine what would have happened,” Ajit Pawar said amid peels of laughter. Ajit Pawar patted him and said - “best of luck”.

Rohit Pawar later told reporters that despite their political differences, Ajit Pawar is a "father figure" to him.

Rohit Pawar is son of Ajit Pawar’s cousin Rajendra Pawar.

"In the 2019 elections, he (Ajit Pawar) helped me immensely and since he is my uncle, it was my responsibility to touch his feet. In this land which belongs to YB Chavan Saheb…the tradition and values given by him need to be followed and we are doing the same," Rohit Pawar said.

Asked about Ajit Pawar's dig, Rohit Pawar said it is true that had his uncle held a rally in Karjat-Jamkhed things would have been different.

"However, he was busy in Baramati (which he won for the eighth time) and could not get time to come to the constituency," he said, adding that he congratulated the Deputy Chief Minister for his performance in the recent elections.

In Baramati, Ajit Pawar defeated his own nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar, the son of his brother Shriniwas Pawar.

Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

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Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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