What's cooking? Sharad Pawar invites Maharashtra CM, deputies for meal at Baramati home

Mumbai: In a surprising development in Maharashtra politics, Sharad Pawar has invited Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to share a meal at his home in Baramati, when the trio come to the town in Pune district for inaugurating development projects on Saturday.

The 83-year-old Pawar's move ahead of the declaration of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has come as a surprise in both the camps - ruling Maha Yuti (NDA) and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A).

With the June-July 2023 split in the 25-year-old party, Baramati has become a sort of battleground of the two factions - the NCP now led by Ajit Pawar, who has claimed the party and the traditional clock symbol and another led by Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, which is now known as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) with the ‘man blowing turha’ (or tutari) symbol.

Ajit Pawar, the 64-year-old nephew of Sharad Pawar, plans to field his wife Sunetra Pawar from Baramati against his 54-year-old cousin Supriya Sule, who has been representing the seat for the last three terms.

Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar would be in Baramati, the bastion of Sharad Pawar’s for the NaMo Rojgar Fair in which thousands of unemployed shall be given jobs, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Surprisingly, the event is being held in the Vidya Pratisthan, an institution founded by him.

It is not yet known whether the trio would be honouring the invite of Saheb, as Sharad Pawar is popularly known.

The invite for the meals and get together at the Govind Bagh residence - on his letterhead is addressed to Shinde with copies marked to Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

Sharad Pawar is not among the invitees at the Maharozgar Mela event on 2 March in Baramati, however, Supriya Sule, Shirur MP Dr Amol Kolhe, Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan were among the invitees.

Supriya Sule said her father Sharad Pawar’s name has been omitted, though he heads the institution where the mega-event is being held.

Karjat Jamkhed MLA Rohit Pawar slammed the government for not adhering to protocols and inviting his grand-uncle, Sharad Pawar, for the official event.

Supriya Sule said that for the Pawar family, the culture is ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, and whenever any Chief Minister or other dignitaries visit the Baramati town they are warmly welcomed at their house.