Ajit Pawar leads race in 'Future CM' banners, Sharad Pawar not enthused

Amid a jumpy political situation in Maharashtra since the past few weeks, Nationalist Congress Party's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar has emerged as the front-runner in banners proclaiming him as the 'Future Chief Minister', here on Wednesday.

It started on Tuesday in his 'sasural', Ter town in Osmanabad district, where his in-laws reside, some supporters erected huge banners and posters with the message: "Ajit Pawar, Son-in-Law of Ter, Our Leader, The Future Chief Minister'.

On Wednesday, Ajit Pawar's banners-posters as 'Future CM' popped up in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and all the way in Nagpur -- the last where a similar poster had come up with the name of Bharatiya Janata Party's Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

However, NCP President and his uncle Sharad Pawar was not exactly enthused at the banner-poster proclamations concerning his brash nephew and has pulled up the party activists to refrain from such blatant propaganda.

An obviously unapproving Congress state President Nana Patole merely commented that "whichever party has the maximum number of MLAs will get the CM's post".

In a swipe, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that even Union Home Minister Amit Shah has come to Nagpur this day to view whose banner is more impressive -- an obvious hint at Fadnavis' posters in his hometown.

Earlier, in January-February, besides Ajit Pawar, even other NCP bigwigs like state President Jayant Patil and MP Supriya Sule-Pawar had shot to prominence as 'Future CM', but the issue died down soon after.

The latest round of soothsaying comes days after the mercurial Ajit Pawar, 64, publicly expressed a pet desire to ascend to the Top Post, triggering a furious political debate.

After all, he has been a former four-time Deputy CM, including in the 80-hour-long two-man government headed by ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis in November 2019, and considered sufficiently experienced for a 'promotion'.

The state has been agog with speculation over Ajit Pawar's next political move, like hopping over to the BJP in return for the CM's post, though he himself has repeatedly and vehemently denied any such intentions, often in his humorous and wise-cracking style.

--IANS

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