Dada is like Bachchan, everyone wants him: Sule

On her first in office as working president of the NCP, Supriya Sule deflects any chatter on a fissure in the family following her recent step-up in the party, by stating that her cousin and senior leader, Ajit Pawar was like Amitabh Bachchan.

Mumbai On her first day in office as the working president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Supriya Sule deflected any possible chatter on a fissure in the family following her recent step-up in the party, by stating that her cousin and senior leader, Ajit Pawar was like Amitabh Bachchan. “Everyone wants him, just the way megastar Amitabh Bachchan is in demand in Bollywood,” said Sule.

Mumbai, June 16 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Working President Supriya Sule being welcomed by a party worker at NCP Party office in Mumbai on Friday. (ANI Photo) (Girish Srivastav)

Sule took charge of the new position on Friday. She arrived at NCP’s headquarters in Ballad Pier at 10 am, where she met party’s leaders and workers who had gathered in huge numbers. She also met the Akola-based parents of the 18-year-old student who was found dead in her hostel room at the Savitridevi Phule Mahila Chhatralaya, at Charni Road, on June 6. They had arrived in the city nearly 10 days ago to fight for justice for their deceased daughter. They will stay on for the next two weeks.

“They are suspicious about their daughter being allotted a room on the fourth floor of the hostel. She was the lone resident on the entire floor. I spoke to the police and also called the state school education minister Deepak Kesarkar, who has promised financial aid of ₹10 lakh to the family,” Sule told HT.

Subsequently, she attended a convention of domestic works at Marine Lines. Interacting with the media, she slammed the state and central governments for being “insensitive towards cases of crime against women”.

Sule was appointed the new working president on June 10, the 25th foundation day of NCP. She was also made incharge of Maharashtra, which raised eyebrows in the political circles as the party leadership had always maintained that Ajit Pawar would look after Maharashtra while Sule will work at the national level. When queried about the need for two working presidents, she said it was an “internal matter”. “It is our party and we will decide how to run NCP,” she said. “We now have a clear-cut division of work. I have been given the responsibility of Maharashtra because my constituency is in the state. I also have to look after Lok Sabha, whereas Praful bhai (Patel) will oversee Rajya Sabha.”

Lauding her cousin later, she said, “Everyone wants Amitabh Bachchan to be part of their movies – everything about him works, be it his voice, photographs, looks or autographs. So if dada (Ajit Pawar) is the Amitabh Bachchan of Maharashtra politics what is wrong with that.” The Baramati member of parliament was addressing the elephant in the room – the open offer given by Kesarkar to Ajit Pawar to join the ruling BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena coalition, governing the state.