'Sharad Pawar Like God To Us': Calls For Reunion Grows In Ajit's NCP Camp After Maharashtra Polls

Ajit Pawar's mother Asha Pawar has called for a reunion of her son and her brother-in-law Sharad Pawar amid speculation of a reconciliation between the two leaders.

File photo of Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar.

Source : PTI

Weeks after the Maharashtra assembly elections in November, there has been a call for the reunion of the rival Nationalist Congress Party, led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar. 

Ajit Pawar's mother has called for a reunion of her son and her brother-in-law Sharad Pawar amid speculation of a reconciliation between the two leaders. The new year prayer by the Deputy CM's mother Asha Pawar has spurred calls for a reunion from both NCP factions. 

Asha Pawar visited the holy town of Pandharpur and prayed for a reunion of her son Ajit and his uncle Sharad Pawar.

"All disputes should end… Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar should reunite," she told reporters after visiting the Vithal-Rukmini temple in Pandharpur, according to Moneycontrol.

However, Ajit's mother isn't the only one to call for a reunion of the NCP camp, after the Sharad Pawar camp faced loss in the assembly polls. 

Reacting to Asha's remark, senior NCP leader Praful Patel said he would be happy if the Pawar family reunited, saying Sharad Pawar was "like God to us".

"Sharad Pawar is our deity. We have a high degree of respect for him. If the Pawar family comes together, it will make us extremely happy. I consider myself a member of the Pawar family," Praful Patel said. 

NCP MLA Narhari Zirwal echoed the same saying that the party felt odd to have left Sharad Pawar's NCP camp. 

"Many feel likewise. Now I will go to him and urge him (and Ajit) to come together. Pawar saheb has been relentlessly working for people from different sections of the society. And he continues to do so," Zirwal said. 

Ajit Pawar split from the Sharad Pawar camp, taking 40 MLAs with him joining the NDA camp with the BJP and Shiv Sena. 

The Mahayuti swept the polls to the 288-member assembly, with BJP bagging 132 seats, Shiv Sena getting 57 and 41 going into the kitty of the NCP. The opposition Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) of Sharad Pawar managed to win just 16, 20 and 10 seats, respectively.