Legacy of Ajit Pawar

By Camil Parkhe
Pune, 28th January 2026: We journalists form particular impressions of all the politicians we encounter often. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who passed away in a most tragic accident on Wednesday. January 28. was a leader we journalists admired the most for some of his unique qualities.

One of these qualities was his penchant for punctuality.

Most politicians and celebrities are notorious for arriving late for their scheduled programme. Government bureaucrats, party workers and others however dreaded Ajit Pawar’s strict adherence to his policy of `starting very early and always being on a scheduled time.’

Ajit Pawar was always known for carrying out his official visits to various sites as early as 7 am. Often, he would be at the site of the inspection or inauguration venue much before the government officials or the organisers, thus causing a panic among these persons.

Sharad Pawar although sworn in as many as four times as Maharashtra Chief Minister, has never completed a full term. It is said that had he completed at least one full term, the overall scenario in Maharashtra would have been different than the present one.

Likewise, It was his bad luck that Ajit Pawar could never make it to the Numero Uno, the Number One position – the chief minister’s seat- although his Nationalist Congress Party shared the power with the Congress for 15 years – from 1999 to 2014. At one time, the NCP had even more State Assembly seats than its alliance partner, the Congress, and yet the chief minister’s seat eluded Ajit Pawar.

Many of his partymen as well as others would have loved him to occupy the chief minister’s post – a dream which now will never come true.

For, Ajit Pawar was known as one of the most efficient, hardworking statesman, a politician who knew well the ground realities and the people around him. The perennial frown lines on his forehead in a way symolised his nature. He was not exactly a `popular’ leader and did not advocate or support any populist schemes even when he had the State’s treasury keys with him.

As the finance minister in the successive State government for a long period, he did not favour waiving off the farmers’ power bills and always called for financial discipline to manage the affairs of the State economy.

Of course, it was a different matter altogether that when faced with an imminent defeat in the State Assembly polls in 2024, as the finance minister in the BJP-led grand alliance government, he had to grudgingly make provision in the State Budget for the Ladki Bahin Scheme to doll out monthly Rs. 1500 to lakhs of women in Maharashtra.

The move paid rich dividend as the BJP-led alliance government was swept back to power despite a very poor performance of the alliance in the earlier Lok Sabha polls in the State.

In various ways, Ajit Pawar inherited the legacy of his illustrious uncle and patron Sharad Pawar- truly a legend in his lifetime. It is said even now that no other politician in Maharashtra has direct interactions with the masses and knows the grass root leaders and workers as does the Senior Pawar.

Like Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar too knew the pulse of the people, the issues he had to tackle with and the thorough background of the people who approached him on various occasions. The people and journalists well acquainted with the Mantralaya functioning would vouch for this.

Ajit Pawar was always well informed of the files that would come before him and in no way be depend for this on the government bureaucrats.

It must be pointed out that despite joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) did not indulge in hardcore saffron rhetoric like many others neo-converts to the BJP ideology.

Despite joining the saffron alliance a few years ago, Ajit Pawar, unlike many others with a strong Congress background, had never made any statement that would be against his long secular credentials or cause an alarm among his minority community supporters.

This was made amply clear when Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party declared to nominate 30 per cent Muslims in the previous State Assembly polls and later on also managed to secure elections of many Muslims from Mumbai and elsewhere.

In the recently concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls too, Ajit Pawar’s NCP has won three seats, much more than the Samajwadi Party which has in the past claimed Muslim community’ support.

Ajit Pawar, along with the Senior Pawar’s party, had taken head on against the BJP in the recently concluded municipal corporations elections in Pune and Pimpri Chichwad despite being a deputy chief minister in the BJP-led government in the State.

A large areas of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation were earlier part of the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. Sharad Pawar who has nurtured this constituency well for the past three decades has been the architect of the local industrial establishment as well as the local Hinjewadi IT hub. In the recent past, Ajit Pawar had don the mantle of developing this area.

After the exit of the Suresh Kalmadi-led Congress in Pune Municipal Corporation, Ajit Pawar had called the shots in Pune civic body and thus also held the post of Pune district guardian much to the chagrin of the BJP stalwarts.

Fortunately for the BJP, in both the cities, the united NCP parties had to face drubbing, otherwise matters would have turn difficult for the BJP-led alliance government in the State.

In the present political scenario, there are very few politicians one would be proud to share the dais or to be photographed with them. Notwithstanding some of his public stances, Sharad Pawar is certainly one of these rare politicians. I was, therefore, elated when in July last year Sharad Pawar released my Marathi book, on Savitribai and Jotiba Phule’s Scottish teacher couple, Margaret and James Mitchell.

Soon after that I was also scheduled to share a dais with Deputy Chief Minister and District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar to launch a new Marathi monthly ‘Shabdaseva’, a function hosted by Baramati’s Dr. Sanjeev Kolhatkar’s family which has close ties with the Pawar family.

Unfortunately, on that day Ajit Pawar had to be out of Pune to hoist the tricolor on the occasion of the Independence Day and I missed the opportunity to share the dais with him and to speak in his presence.

What after Ajit Pawar? What about his Nationalist Congress Party?

These questions have obviously cropped up after the tragic and sudden exit of the veteran leader whom had occupied a large space in the State politics for the last few decades. Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar. who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha is too novice in the political arena and his son, Parth Pawar, previously defeated in Maval Lok Sabha seat, is yet to make his political debut as an elected representative

The next few days will see NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and his MP daughter Supriya Sule in key roles in shaping and keeping alive the personal and political legacy of their family member Ajit Pawar.

(Camil Parkhe is a senior journalist based in Pune.)