In a first, Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar to host separate Diwali events

Pune:The split in the Nationalist Congress Party has cast its shadow on the famed Diwali celebrations of the Pawars, with different events being organised for the first time by Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Pune district.

In a post on X, Ajit Pawar said he will be organising his Diwali Padva celebration at Katewadi, his native village in Baramati, at 6:30pm on Saturday, where he will be meeting residents and NCP functionaries.

The celebrations of NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar will continue to centre around his Govindbaug residence, where members of the household, party functionaries and friends of the opposition stalwart have been gathering for years during Diwali.

According to party functionaries, before the NCP split in July last year, Ajit Pawar used to attend the event at Govindbaug.

Speaking on the issue, Sharad Pawar's daughter and Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule said she did not have information about the event being hosted by the deputy CM.

She, however, added that everyone waits for the celebration organised at Govindbaug.

"As people from across the state come to greet Pawar saheb, we wait ardently for this joyous day," she said.

The Diwali celebrations come amid the upcoming assembly polls, in which Baramati is slated to see a high voltage fight between Ajit Pawar and his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar.

In the Lok Sabha polls in Baramati, the household was once again split along party lines as Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar took on sitting MP Sule, who won convincingly.

The NCP split in July last year after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government.

The ECI later recognised the deputy CM's faction as the real NCP and gave it the 'clock' symbol, while the Sharad Pawar group was christened NCP (SP) with 'man blowing tutari' as its symbol.

Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23.