Show of strength by Ajit Show of strength at Ajit Pawar’s first visit to Baramati as deputy chief minister

The supporters of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar displayed a massive show of strength at his constituency in Baramati on Friday, on his first

The supporters of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar displayed a massive show of strength at his constituency in Baramati on Friday, on his first visit to the city after taking charge for the first time as the deputy chief minister of the state in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

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During a roadshow in the city, Pawar’s supporters welcomed him by showering flowers petals from a helicopter on the legislator. Party workers presented a large garland to the newly-appointed deputy chief minister with the help of a crane. A large crowd had gathered to greet the leader and Pawar ensured that all his supporters were permitted to meet him.

However, Ajit’s uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and his cousin and parliamentarian Supriya Sule, were not present at the event, raising speculations. However, Ajit told the media persons that the two were busy with their respective engagements. Previously, Ajit had expressed his discontent on several occasions with his uncle and had rebelled against the party veteran to form a three-day coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Ajit later came back to the party fold.

Ajit Pawar also said that he will make Marathi compulsory in all schools across the state. “We will make Marathi a compulsory subject in all schools, irrespective of their medium,”said the seven-time Baramati legislator.

He further stated that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi state government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, is planning to provide relief to farmers who have taken loans above ₹2 lakh as well as to those who have been repaying their loans on time.

“All the farmers repaying their loans on time need to be encouraged. After we announced the ₹2-lakh loan waiver, there have been demands from those farmers too who had taken loans above ₹2 lakh and thus, we are looking towards providing relief to such farmers too,” Ajit said.

In the Assembly elections held in October last year, Ajit Pawar had defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Gopichand Padalkar, with a record margin of 1.65 lakh votes, the highest in the state. Pawar was also a Member of Parliament from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency for a brief period in 1991.

Meanwhile, another NCP leader and social justice minister, Dhananjay Munde, too received a grand welcome by his supporters in Beed on Friday. A 700-kg garland was gifted to Munde with the help of two cranes, apart from other arrangements made for his welcome.