NCP Says Ajit Pawar Came To See Aunt At Sharad Pawar’s Home

Pratibha Pawar, wife of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, underwent surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai, the report said

The surgery was related to her hand, the functionary from the Sharad Pawar faction said without elaborating.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to  meet Pratibha Pawar after she was discharged from hospital, PTI quoted senior party functionary as having said.

Pawar, who split the NCP and took oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, said his party decided to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government for the development of the country and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Sunday afternoon (July 2), after recent political developments in his party reportedly left him disgruntled, resulting in him joining the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) government.

Pawar took eight MLAs with him from the NCP, which is currently in opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, to the Eknath Shinde-led government. Earlier in 2019, he had joined hands with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and had taken an oath as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister, along with Fadnavis as the Chief Minister. His rebellion from the party did not last for more than three days at the time and Pawar returned to the NCP fold.

This is apparently the first visit of Ajit Pawar to Silver Oak after he rebelled against his uncle, split the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019 she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short lived government post the Assembly polls.

Fondly known as 'kaki' among NCP leaders, Pratibha Pawar is often viewed as the matriarch of the party but has never been active in politics.