NCP (Ajit faction) to hold conclaves, fairs and festivals to counter Rohit Pawar’s foot march

The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP in Maharashtra plans to hold youth conclaves, job fairs, and sports festivals to counter the ongoing foot march by Rohit Pawar.

Mumbai: The Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to hold youth conclaves, job fairs and sports festivals in all districts of Maharashtra. The inaugural edition of the youth conclave will be held in Pune on Friday, and it will be attended by the state agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) youth wing president Suraj Chavan and other dignitaries.

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The conclaves and fairs are aimed at countering the ‘Yuva Sangharsh Yatra’, a 45-day-long foot march being undertaken by NCP MLA and Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew Rohit Pawar (38) between Pune and Nagpur. The yatra commenced on Tuesday and is expected to create a buzz along its 800-kilometre route, especially among the youth, as well as strengthen Rohit Pawar’s credentials as a leader.

“The job fairs and sports festivals will benefit the youth whereas the conclaves will help us connect with the next generation. The conclaves will be held according to Ajit dada’s availability,” said Suraj Chavan.

He claimed that work on organising the fairs, festivals and conclaves had been underway for long, and had nothing to do with Rohit Pawar’s ongoing foot march.

Ajit Pawar had split the NCP in July, when he rebelled against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Backed by a majority of the NCP MLAs, he aligned with the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and was soon sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister. His son Parth Pawar contested the 2019 general election from the Maval Lok Sabha constituency but was defeated by Shrirang Barne from the Shiv Sena (UBT faction) by over two lakh votes.

Rohit Pawar, on the other hand, was elected as MLA from the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahmednagar during his maiden stint as a candidate in the assembly polls in 2019. His ‘Yuva Sangharsh Yatra’ is planned along the lines of Congress’ ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and will culminate in Nagpur on December 7.

Pawar is expected to walk over 18-km a day and conclude the yatra with a small gathering that will raise issues such as unemployment, recruitment on contractual basis, and vacancies in government jobs.