Sharad Pawar fields grandnephew Rohit in Maharshtra assembly elections

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, October 11

Despite one grandnephew failing to make his mark in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has fielded another in this month’s assembly elections.

Rohit, grandson of Sharad Pawar’s brother Appasaheb, has been fielded from the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. According to NCP leaders Rohit has been active in the local bodies for the past several years and has been preparing to make his political debut for the past few years.

Parth, son of Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar, had lost from the Maval Lok Sabha seat in the last Lok Sabha elections despite the Pawar clan pulling out all stops for him.

”Rohit has learnt politics at the feet of Sharad Pawar for many years He cut his teeth in zilla parishad politics and has done a lot of work during the drought in Maharashtra,” says NCP’s chief spokesman Nawab Malik.

Rohit is taking on BJP Minister Ram Shinde who is seeking a third-term from this seat.

As of now the newbie leader is focusing entirely on agrarian issues putting the BJP on the backfoot. In his election speeches, the young Pawar speaks of poor irrigation and lack of watershed management in
the constituency. With the entire Pawar clan backing his candidature, Rohit has unnerved the BJP, according to reports from the area.

Sitting Member of Parliament Sujay Patil, whose father and leader of the opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil defected to the BJP from the Congress, is said to have sought a rally by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in Ahmednagar district.

 “Nine rallies have been planned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and we have asked for one of them to be held in Ahmednagar district,” says a BJP leader from Mumbai.

According to political observers, Karjat-Jamkhed is seeing a tough battle with the Pawars getting local Congress and NCP leaders to back Rohit. On the other hand, the Vikhe-Patils have old scores to settle
with the Pawars. Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil jumped to the BJP after Sharad Pawar refused to accommodate his son Sujay during the last Lok Sabha elections.

Rohit himself admits that he is facing a tough battle. He told reporters that he was focusing on development issues in the constituency instead of criticising his opponent.

”The main issue here is lack of water. There is not enough water even for people to drink let alone cattle. Other issues like roads are secondary,” Pawar, a businessman, tells voters.

It also helps that Pawar used his own funds and mobilised more than a 100 tankers to bring in water to the most affected villages last summer.