Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), paid a floral tribute to his mentor and the first chief minister of Maharashtra, Yashwantrao Chavan, on Monday at his memorial in Karad.
A day after his nephew Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP to become the deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-BJP cabinet, the 82-year-old leader's visit to late Chavan's memorial on the occasion of Guru Purnima is being interpreted as a sign of strength by him.
Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he was undeterred by his nephew Ajit Pawar’s rebellion and would start afresh by going among the people. He left from Pune for Karad on Monday morning and stopped along the way to meet supporters who lined up on roadsides to greet him and extend support to him. In Karad, Sharad Pawar was welcomed by thousands of supporters and local MLA Balasaheb Patil.