Did sibling rivalry prompt grand-nephew to tell Pawar to reconsider?

Sharad Pawar

A day after NCP founder Sharad Pawar withdrew from the Lok Sabha race and declared the candidature of his grand-nephew Parth from Maval instead, another grand-nephew, Rohit Pawar, demanded that the party boss review his decision. Rohit expressed his doubts firstly through a Facebook post, and then through an interaction with media persons in Pune.

This also gave credence to unconfirmed reports of fissures in the family, which has dominated state politics for five decades. After his daughter Supriya, Rohit is seen as Pawar senior's blue-eyed boy and the grand-uncle has encouraged him to build an Assembly constituency in Ahmednagar district.

On Monday, Pawar had said that he thought of pulling out of the race because party workers might not like three members of the same family in the electoral fray. His statement is interpreted widely as an admission of pressure from Parth's father Ajit Pawar, who wanted his son to not miss out on a good chance of getting elected as MP. Pawar's daughter and party president Supriya had said no to Parth's candidature when it had first come up.

Denying any rift in the family, especially over a competition between him and Parth, Rohit said, "We want Saheb [grand uncle] in Madha. Parth is the right candidate in Maval. People want him and he will win hands down. The family takes every decision unitedly."

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