Baramati/Mumbai: A lorry carrying the ashes of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar moved by way of the streets of Baramati metropolis full of folks. The truck carried a big life-sized photograph of Ajit Pawar wrapped in a yellow and crimson garland. All of his private employees and bodyguards, who all the time adopted him in all places, had been touring with him one final time.
On the Vidya Pratishthan floor the place Pawar’s final rites had been carried out on Thursday, not an inch of brown soil was seen on the bottom. The bottom was a sea of folks, residents of Baramati and followers of Ajit Pawar who had traveled to Baramati from throughout Maharashtra.
There was full silence because the stays of ‘Ajit Dada’ (brother) had been delivered to the bottom. The general public then broke into chants of “Ajit Dada Paratha Ya” and known as for him to be introduced again.
From 11 am to midday, Maharashtra bid a last farewell to the six-time state honoree and six-time deputy CM in Baramati, the place to begin of Pawar’s political profession 35 years in the past and the seat from which he has represented the state within the Meeting since 1991.
The funeral attracted political luminaries of all races to share the grief of the Pawar household. The final rites had been in progress and whereas his sons Parth and Jay had been sitting ceremonially, Nationalist Congress Occasion (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) chief Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and senior Congress chief Sushil Kumar Shinde had been sitting collectively.
Dwelling Minister Amit Shah, together with newly elected BJP nationwide president Nitin Navin, visited Baramati for the final rites and supplied condolences to the political head of the Pawar household, Sharad Pawar, earlier than putting flowers on Ajit Pawar’s ashes and exchanging temporary condolences together with his sons. Shah took to the dais together with state president Praful Patel of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Politicians like Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh, Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister Rahul Narwekar, state ministers Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Chhagan Bhujbal, Chandrakant Patil, NCP leaders Sunil Tatkare and Dhananjay Munde. Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray had been additionally current and paid floral tributes to Pawar’s ashes. Actor Ritesh Deshmukh and businessman Amit Kalyani had been additionally current.
Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, with whom Ajit Pawar labored as deputy CM within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities, visited Baramati on Wednesday night time together with his spouse Rashmi and son Aaditya, an MLA, to supply condolences to the Pawar household.
As the gang swelled, organizers continued to induce contributors to train restraint and keep in mind “self-discipline, the one precept of Ajit Dada.” The viewers was heard shouting, “Ekachi vada (one promise), ajit dada.” This slogan turned synonymous together with his persona and conveyed the significance of his promise.
Ajit Pawar was identified for saying sure solely to what he might do and was fast to reject something that was out of his fingers or not possible.
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Pawar household united
Ajit Pawar’s sudden loss of life in a aircraft crash on Wednesday and his funeral on Thursday united the whole Pawar clan in grief, from the technology of Sharad and his brother Prataprao Pawar to their kids, Ajit Pawar’s brothers and sisters, and the subsequent technology resembling Parth, Jay and Rohit.
Ajit Pawar’s eldest son Parth carried out his father’s final rites whereas his youthful brother Jay seemed on. Moments earlier, Ajit Pawar’s cousin Supriya Sule held his spouse Sunetra Pawar’s hand and led her to the spot the place the physique was saved.
Sunetra, sister of Padamsinh Patil, who was as soon as thought-about one among Sharad Pawar’s closest aides, was married to Ajit Pawar for nearly 4 a long time.
She sprinkled holy water on her husband’s physique, bowed her head and touched his head and ft in prayer. Soule then took her hand and helped her off the stage. Sule did the identical for Ajit Pawar’s grief-stricken sisters.
Instantly after the information of Ajit Pawar’s loss of life unfold, Sule posted a one-word message on WhatsApp: “Devastating.” On Thursday, she posted a photograph of a a lot youthful Ajit Pawar on her official bulletin board with the caption ‘tenth Lok Sabal MP, Deputy CM of Maharashtra’.
Ajit Pawar first entered electoral politics in 1991 when he contested and gained the Baramati Lok Sabha polls, however resigned in the identical 12 months to get replaced by his uncle Sharad.
An announcement about Soule’s scenario learn: “It is a very troublesome time for our household. We’re deeply touched and grateful for all of the love, care and messages now we have acquired.”
The Pawar household in Maharashtra politics was all the time identified for being very close-knit, with a really sturdy idea of household ties and self-discipline. The household had a convention began by Sharad Pawar’s late mom, wherein all generations of the household had been anticipated to collect in the identical place to have fun Diwali.
Uncle Sharad Pawar has been a father determine to Ajit Pawar ever since he misplaced his organic father, Anantrao Pawar, when he was simply a teen.
Ajit Pawar’s rise up towards the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and his alliance with the Mahayuti tore aside the household’s unity. The 2023 rise up was adopted by two fierce electoral battles over the Baramati clan’s turf. The primary was when Ajit Pawar launched his spouse Sunetra to the world of politics, pitting her towards her cousin, sitting Baramati MP Supriya Sule.
This battle compelled the whole Pawar clan to decide on sides and Ajit Pawar’s brother Shrinivas Pawar and his whole household didn’t need to go towards their chief Sharad Pawar and selected to marketing campaign for Sule. Sunetra was defeated and later lodged within the Rajya Sabha.
Six months later, there was an encore within the battle when Sharad Pawar’s NCP fielded Ajit’s nephew Yugendra Pawar within the state meeting polls. Yugendra misplaced the battle because the folks of Baramati determined to keep up the established order with out selecting a aspect not solely within the Meeting but additionally within the Lok Sabha.
Not too long ago, there was a thaw in relations between the 2 factions of the Pawar household. In August final 12 months, the whole household, together with Ajit Pawar and Sunetra Pawar, attended Yugendra’s wedding ceremony and even posed for photos with them.
Ajit Pawar, alongside together with his nephew Rohit Pawar, an MLA from Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and Sule additionally campaigned on this month’s Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Company polls collectively contested by each NCPs. At one among these gatherings, Rohit Pawar hailed Ajit Pawar because the movie’s hero ‘Rocky Bhai’. KGF.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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