Sharad Pawar meets his estranged nephew Ajit; draws barbs from ally Sanjay Raut

Mumbai: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday met his estranged nephew and Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the Pune-based Vasantdada Sugar Institute, drawing sharp comments from ally and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders do not maintain any contact with those who left, said Raut whose party is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance along with NCP (SP) and Congress.

A meeting of the governing council of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute, a government-recognized research institute, brought together Sharad Pawar, his party's state president Jayant Patil, and rival NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Dilip Walse Patil earlier in the day.

"Everything is going fine between them....We do not even try to have any contact with those who quit the Shiv Sena. The way they betrayed Maharashtra and backstabbed it....we will not go anywhere near them," said Raut, referring to leaders of the rival Shiv Sena headed by deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

Last month, Raut had expressed resentment about Sharad Pawar felicitating and praising Shinde who split the Shiv Sena in 2022.

"They (leaders of NCP factions) have (institutions such as) the Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Vidya Pratishthan, Rayat Shikshan Sanstha. We do not have anything like that. We do not have such meetings (with former party colleagues), and if there is a possibility of such a meeting, we avoid it. We do not believe in having dialogue in politics. We will keep fighting those who split our party and teach them a lesson," he said.

Meanwhile, asked about a meeting between her party colleague Jayant Patil and her estranged cousin Ajit Pawar, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule played down its significance.

Notably, there has been speculation for a long time about Jayant Patil crossing over to the Ajit Pawar faction, though Patil has denied these rumours.

"Vasantdada Sugar Institute has persons from all parties as its members. Issues related to the sugar industry, farmers and allied businesses and new technology were discussed at the governing council meeting. It is an academic meeting where no politics or political ideologies are discussed," Sule told reporters.

Elsewhere, Ajit Pawar said, "We are all members of the VSI, and we met to discuss various issues related to the sugar sector like the use of Artificial Intelligence." NCP (SP) leader Amol Matale said the meeting between Jayant Patil and Ajit Pawar was not a secret.

"Instead of criticizing others, please see what is going on in your own backyard," said Matale, taking a swipe at Raut.