On Thursday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar criticized his cabinet colleague, senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil, for his remarks made in March where he said that he and his party workers wanted to defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family. This came two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded, where Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra contested against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Pawar disapproved of Patil’s statement and said that he should not have made those comments. He further added that he asked Patil to look into the BJP’s work in Pune city and him (Ajit Pawar) and his party workers will look after the Baramati Lok Sabha seat.
Sule accused the BJP of conspiring to finish Sharad Pawar politically after Patil’s remarks. However, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule defended Patil’s remarks and said that when seeking votes during elections, one ought to speak in a sarcastic tone. When asked about Ajit Pawar’s public disapproval of Patil’s remarks, Bawankule declined to comment.
