“Family matter…not appropriate for me to say anything”: NCP MP Praful Patel on Ajit Pawar’s statement

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 14 (ANI): Reacting to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s statement that he made the mistake of fielding his wife Sunetra against his sister Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha polls, NCP MP Praful Patel on Wednesday said that it is Ajit Pawar’s personal and family matter.

“It is his personal matter, his family’s matter. He is a senior leader in the state and the president of our party, the NCP. If he has said something, then I do not think it is appropriate for me to say anything more about it,” Patel told reporters on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Tuesday asserted that politics is politics and family is family.

“We should not mix family with politics. As a brother, it is his (Ajit Pawar’s) duty to go and celebrate Rakshabandhan. Also, as a political leader, he would be at the forefront for Mahayuti to win elections,” Kesarkar said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that he made a huge mistake by fielding his wife, Sunetra Pawar, against Supriya Sule from Baramati in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

“I love all my sisters. One shouldn’t allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn’t have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong,” Pawar said.

Following a split in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP announced Sunetra Pawar as its candidate from Baramati.

NCP (SP) candidate Supriya Sule retained her Baramati Lok Sabha seat by more than 1.55 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Supriya Sule emerged victorious in the Lok Sabha polls from the Baramati seat, defeating the National Congress Party’s Sunetra Ajitdada Pawar. Sule polled 7,32,312 votes, while Sunetra Pawar garnered 5,73,979 votes.

Voting on the Baramati Lok Sabha seat took place in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 7.