Sharad Pawar breaks down as he pays tribute to late nephew Ajit in Baramati

It was a deeply emotional moment for Sharad Pawar, the founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), as he paid floral tribute to his late nephew Ajit Pawar amid a sombre atmosphere. As Pawar stepped forward to offer flowers before Ajit Pawar’s photograph, his legs reportedly faltered and a security guard had to support him by the arm to help him reach the portrait. His eyes welled up while paying tribute, and he was later assisted to a chair.

The condolence meeting was organised on Wednesday at Ajit Pawar’s residence, Sahyog Society, in Baramati, on behalf of the Pawar family. Sharad Pawar arrived from Govindbagh along with his wife Pratibha Pawar. The occasion marked the first face-to-face meeting between Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar and the senior Pawar after she took oath as deputy chief minister. Sharad Pawar blessed Sunetra Pawar on the occasion.

Several members of the extended Pawar family were present, including Parth Pawar, Jay Pawar, Neeta Patil, Vijaya Patil, Shrinivas Pawar, Rohit Pawar, Rajendra Pawar and Ranjit Pawar.

Sharad Pawar had cancelled his scheduled visit to Delhi and travelled from Mumbai to Baramati to attend the programme. Before participating in the condolence meeting, he held a discussion in the afternoon at Vidya Pratishthan with Ajit Pawar’s sons Parth and Jay. Trustees of the institution were also present at the meeting, which lasted about an hour. No details of the discussion have been made public.

Following Ajit Pawar’s untimely death in a plane crash, political circles have been abuzz with claims and counterclaims regarding a possible merger of the two NCP factions. Sharad Pawar has said that a merger of the two parties was Ajit Pawar’s wish. In response, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said Ajit Pawar had never conveyed such an intention to him.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sharad Pawar hit back at Fadnavis, questioning how the chief minister could know about discussions that had taken place between Ajit Pawar and NCP leaders. “What does the chief minister know about the conversations between Ajit Pawar and our leaders? And why has he dragged my name into the issue of merger?” Pawar said, delivering a sharp rebuttal.

Sunetra Pawar is expected to travel to Delhi next week. However, ahead of that visit, the entire Pawar family was seen together at the condolence programme at Sahyog Society. Political observers believe the family may discuss the possibility of merging the two NCP factions as well as deliberate on future strategy. So far, Sunetra Pawar and her sons Parth and Jay have not issued any public statement on the merger question.