Pawar praises RSS, amid speculation on reunion with Ajit

Springing a surprise, NCP (SP) supremo and veteran politician Sharad Pawar praised the BJP’s ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in a meeting with his party workers in Mumbai.

Pawar said the RSS has a committed worker base, who have showcased unwavering loyalty to its ideology and do not deviate from their path, come what may. The NCP workers should also show similar dedication to the party and commitment towards the ideology of BR Ambedkar, Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule and first Maharashtra CM Yeshwantrao Chavan, he said.

Sharad Pawar’s surprise praise for RSS comes amid speculations of the veteran’s possible reunion with his nephew and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Murmurs of a possible reunion between the two gathered steam when Ajit Pawar’s mother Ashatai Pawar told reporters that she prayed for the Pawar family to reunite. Later, NCP Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel said that party leaders have always considered Pawar to be their deity.

“We may have taken a separate political path, but we have always had respect for Pawar saheb. If the Pawar family reunites, we will be very happy,” said Patel.

Talking about the NCP (SP)’s defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly poll, Pawar said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) became complacent after its success in the Lok Sabha elections. The ruling Mahayuti, on the other hand, went back to the drawing board and took steps to reverse the losses in the parliamentary poll, Patel said.

The NCP veteran said that the party failed to convince the OBCs of what the NCP did for their upliftment.