Ajit Pawar's son makes debut; admits he is NCP's youth face for Mumbai

Parth Pawar

The third generation Thackerays seem to have a young challenger, in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's grandnephew and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's son, Parth. On Thursday, he took the plunge into campus politics, by meeting the Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao to discuss the problems being faced by the students of the controversy-ridden University of Mumbai.

Parth, 28, has now stepped into an arena which has so far been dominated by the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). In the Sena and MNS camp, Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya and his cousin, Raj Thackeray's son, Amit have also been actively taking up students' issues with MU authorities, and at times with the Governor too.

Parth Pawar (second from right) decided to approach the governor over the problems being faced by the Mumbai University students

Sensing that the opposition, Congress-NCP, is not at par with the saffron parties when it comes to raising students' issues, Parth decided to approach the Governor over problems being faced by MU students. Upon being asked whether this should be seen as his entry into politics, Parth candidly admitted that NCP doesn't have a face in Mumbai, especially when it comes to youth and campus issues.

"I have been assisting my mother, Sunetra Pawar, in the implementation of social activities being done by the Pawar clan. I met the Governor, too, with the intention to raise student's issues on the appropriate forum and get them addressed as early as possible. This is beyond politics." In the letter he gave to the Governor, Parth has cited several issues with the varsity, like delay in results, women's safety on campus and most importantly, the fire safety issues concerning the educational institutes in the city.

Expressing his concern over fire safety in educational institutes, Parth said, "Any fire mishap can prove fatal as classroom furniture like tables and chairs, are made out of wood and can easily catch fire. In many colleges, labs have a large quantity of flammable liquids, which may add more fuel to the fire. Thus, to ensure the safety of students, teaching and non-teaching staff, a proper fire audit and drill should be held at regular intervals in Mumbai University and its affiliated colleges."

Prior to this appearance, Parth has been seen at a few party events with senior Pawars. In fact, he had even visited Nagpur to see the proceedings of the state legislature during the monsoon session. Shiv Sena and MNS leaders declined to comment on his entry into student politics.

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