Rift in I.N.D.I.A. bloc? Sharad Pawar praises Gautam Adani, calls him 'inspiration'

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party—Sharadchandra Pawar NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Sunday praised the Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, drawing political attention on the Congress’ 140th foundation day.

Pawar described Adani’s rise as an “inspiration”, with the industrialist reciprocating by calling the veteran leader a “mentor”.

The warm exchange assumes political significance as the Congress continues its aggressive attacks on Adani, led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Though the event was officially non-political, it has generated considerable buzz in Maharashtra amid renewed speculation over a possible rapprochement between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party founded by Pawar 25 years ago.

Adani was in Baramati, the Pawar family bastion in Pune district, to inaugurate the new complex of the Sharad Pawar Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, part of the Vidya Pratishthan established by Pawar, a four-time Maharashtra Chief Minister and three-time union minister.

Among those present were Pawar’s daughter and NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule, the Baramati MP; his nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Baramai MLA who heads the NCP; the latter’s wife and Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar — all of them trustees of the Vidya Pratishthan.

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar received Adani at Baramati airport and accompanied him to the venue.

Vidya Pratishthan treasurer Yugendra Pawar and other members of the Pawar family were also present.

In his address, Pawar highlighted Adani’s journey from Gujarat’s drought-prone Banaskantha district to building a vast business empire across 23 states.

“Adani arrived in Mumbai and started from scratch. Today, his journey is an inspiration for hardworking youth who dream big,” Pawar said, referring to the Ahmedabad-headquartered conglomerate’s presence across infrastructure, ports, airports, energy, renewables, defence and other sectors.

Adani, in turn, said his association with Pawar spanning nearly three decades had shaped his thinking.

“What I have learned from Sharad Pawar has no parallel. Beyond knowledge, it is his wisdom and empathy that leave the strongest imprint. He has always been a mentor in the truest sense,” he said.

Praising the ‘Baramati model’, Adani said Pawar’s work had gone beyond local development. “Transforming agriculture, strengthening cooperatives and encouraging entrepreneurship — what he has achieved here is far more than development,” he said.

Calling upon young Indians to lead the next phase of nation-building through artificial intelligence, Adani said India must move from technology adoption to capability creation. “The Centre will serve as a platform where education, industry and national purpose converge, enabling students and researchers to build solutions for India’s transformation. Future India’s relationship with AI will belong to those who choose to build capability,” he said.