Sharad Pawar meets farmers; grand nephew showered with 'gulal'

On a day NCP chief Sharad Pawar was out with farmers who lost crops due to untimely rains, his grand nephew Rohit Pawar was celebrating his victory in the October 21 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Pawar on Friday visited Nashik district to review crop losses due to rains and asked the government to help farmers.

Even as the 79-year-old leader was listening to the woes of farmers affected by the rains, Rohit Pawar, 34, was being showered with 'gulal' in a huge procession - which comprised 30 JCB machines - at Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district.

He has won the Karjat-Jamkhed Assembly seat, defeating Maharashtra BJP minister Ram Shinde.

After this contrast was highlighted by a TV channel, the newly-elected MLA proffered an explanation, saying his original plan was to inspect crops in the area.

"I had come to this area to inspect crop damage due to unseasonal rains. But (party) workers insisted that they want to take out a procession," he said.