Raut lauds Ajit Pawar but links him to rise of political crimes in Pune

In his weekly column Rokh Thok, in the party’s mouthpiece Saamana, Raut lauded Ajit Pawar for not compromising his ideological stance despite aligning with the BJP. He specifically highlighted Pawar’s decision to avoid visiting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, contrasting it with the conduct of other leaders

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has praised late Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar for his administrative acumen, mass connect and ideological independence, while simultaneously holding him responsible for the rise of political crime in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

In his weekly column Rokh Thok, in the party’s mouthpiece Saamana, Raut lauded Ajit Pawar for not compromising his ideological stance despite aligning with the BJP. He specifically highlighted Pawar’s decision to avoid visiting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, contrasting it with the conduct of other leaders.

“Ajit Pawar’s political ideology was independent in nature. Unlike (Eknath) Shinde, he did not visit the RSS headquarters. He joined hands with the BJP and accepted the post of deputy chief minister, but did not give up his ideology,” Raut wrote, describing Pawar as flexible but not submissive in his political approach.

Raut also reflected on Ajit Pawar’s political rise, noting how Baramati—once identified primarily with NCP founder Sharad Pawar—gradually became Ajit Pawar’s stronghold. However, while analysing Pawar’s influence in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Raut linked the escalation of crime in the region to what he termed the “Ajit Pawar style of politics”.