Ajit Pawar disapproves of Patil's 'defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati' remarks

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday disapproved of his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil's remarks that he and workers of his party BJP wanted to defeat NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar in Baramati, saying he should not have spoken those words.

Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded.

Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra contested from Baramati against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.

In March, Patil had said that he and his party workers wanted to defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family.

Patil, while speaking to reporters in Baramati, had accused the senior Pawar of "taking away" the Shiv Sena despite the people of the state giving a clear mandate in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance by electing 161 MLAs in the 2019 polls.

"I and my party workers want defeat of Sharad Pawar (in Baramati) and that is enough (for us)," the senior BJP leader had said. Ajit Pawar, while expressing his displeasure over the BJP leader's comments made in March, said on Thursday, "He (Patil) should not have made those remarks."

"(After that statement), I told Chandrakant dada to look into the BJP's work in Pune city and me (Ajit Pawar) and my party workers will look after the Baramati Lok Sabha seat.

He should not have made those comments. But later, he never spoke a word," said the Deputy Chief Minister. Latching on to Patil's remarks, Sule had accused the BJP of conspiring to finish Sharad Pawar politically.

Defending Patil's remarks, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said during elections, while seeking votes, one ought to speak in a "sarcastic" tone.

When asked by reporters about Ajit Pawar's public disapproval of Patil's remarks, Bawankule chose not to comment. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the BJP are ruling coalition allies in the state.