Mumbai: On 18 August, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was preparing to address a rally in Maharashtra’s Beed district. Several leaders had already spoken before him, and the master of the ceremony had just called Jayant Patil, the party’s Maharashtra unit chief, on to the stage to talk.
But just as he began talking, the crowd began chanting another name — Rohit Pawar, the NCP chief’s grandnephew and a young politician who has increasingly been seen making headlines.
An MLA from Karjat Jamkhed constituency in the Ahmednagar district and the grandson of Sharad Pawar’s older brother, noted agriculturist Dinkarrao ‘Appasaheb’ Pawar, Rohit was not scheduled to speak at the Beed rally. But the crowd’s collective wish couldn’t be ignored and 61-year-old Jayant Patil moved aside to make way for the 37-year-old Pawar scion.
It was unusual, but not completely unexpected.
Ever since the split in the NCP in July this year when Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar — senior Pawar’s nephew and the uncle of Rohit Pawar — staged a rebellion to join the ruling Eknath Shinde-led government, Rohit, who chose to stay back with his granduncle Sharad Pawar, has been in particular focus.
According to political analysts, the young Pawar has evidently been trying to claim some of the space vacated by Ajit Pawar and other senior NCP leaders such as Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare, and Praful Patel. He’s been touring different parts of Maharashtra and preparing the ground for Sharad Pawar’s rallies as the Maratha strongman attempts to consolidate his hold on the NCP’s rank and file.
Ahead of Sharad Pawar’s Beed rally, too, Rohit was on the road, holding smaller meetings with party workers and people across Marathwada for four days, relaying ‘Sahebancha Sandesh’ (Saheb’s message) and overseeing arrangements.
“He got the opportunity quite early on. With Ajit Pawar around, he was relegated to the background but now he is becoming aggressive,” political commentator Pratap Asbe told ThePrint. “Nowadays, he is very active on social media. He has a good political grasp and he is active during this time of crisis and is making good use of the opportunity that is presented”.
What helps is his grand uncle’s “stamp of approval”, analysts say, which he’s had since the 2019 state assembly elections. At that time, two of Sharad Pawar’s grand nephews, Rohit and his second cousin Parth — son of the now Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar — were trying to make it in politics.
While Parth lost the parliamentary election that year from Maval — the first Pawar to lose an election — Rohit triumphed, beating two-time BJP MLA Ram Shinde in the assembly election held five months later.
“I had many safe options like Pune, Satara, etc. to fight my first election from. I sat with my grandfather (grand-uncle Sharad Pawar) on this,” Rohit told ThePrint. “He advised me that if I wanted to just be an MLA, then to choose an easy constituency, or, if I wanted to work for the constituency, then to choose a challenging constituency politically as well as one where there is a developmental challenge.”
Despite his efforts, however, analysts believe, it won’t be easy for him to fill the space that Ajit Pawar has vacated.
“Although Rohit is being promoted by Sharad Pawar, filling the vacuum set by Ajit won’t be easy for him. But one thing is clear that at least somebody is there in the Pawar family to fill that gap. Now whether he will be able to do that or not, the answer will be in the long term,” political commentator Abhay Deshpande told ThePrint.
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Another Pawar rises
On 2 July, when Ajit Pawar and eight other senior NCP leaders joined the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government as ministers, Maharashtra’s politics changed, and so did the Pawar family dynamics.
For 3.5 years after his election, Rohit remained kept in the background, mostly working for his constituency. But, since his uncle’s rebellion, he has increasingly been in focus, regularly taking on BJP leaders, upping his social media game, and most importantly, always being present around Sharad Pawar.
“When it (the split) happened, I was with saheb (Sharad Pawar) and was observing him. He was calm. What Ajit dada did happened so fast, I had many questions in my mind but when I saw Pawar saheb and he said: ‘Going forward, I am the face of NCP’, I thought when he, at this age, is ready for a fight then why should I compromise,” Rohit said to ThePrint.
Since then, Rohit has become quite vocal about his stand. Unlike Ajit Pawar, who, as an opposition leader, used to soften the blow of his attacks on BJP, “Rohit has taken an aggressive stand against the BJP and doesn’t mince his words”, said political analyst Hemant Desai.
“He has a good political acumen and also goes on the ground, and his popularity is now increasing beyond his constituency,” said Desai.
During last month’s Monsoon Session in Maharashtra, Rohit Pawar sat on a protest demanding a demarcated industrial belt in his KarjatJamkhed constituency situated in Ahmednagar district. The image of Pawar junior sitting alone in the rain demanding a designated Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) estate in his constituency made for a strong one.
His uncle Ajit Pawar, meanwhile, has been upset at the protest, reportedly saying it was “inappropriate” for a public representative to resort to such action when the minister concerned had given a proper response to the letter by Rohit Pawar.
“The government responded to the letter on 1 July stating that a meeting of all stakeholders will be organised and the appropriate decision will be taken. Rohit Pawar should withdraw the protest,” Ajit Pawar had reportedly said.
Despite his uncle’s protestations, however, Rohit wore a sweatshirt to the assembly that said “MIDC” in the front and “Let’s talk about the issue. Let’s give jobs to the youth and discuss the future” in the back.
माझ्या मतदारसंघातील MIDC सह सर्वच युवांसाठी महत्त्वाचा असलेला रोजगाराचा विषय अधिवेशनात लावून धरल्याने मतदारसंघाबाहेरच्या एका मित्राने हा टी-शर्ट भेट दिला. शिवाय
‘ध्येय विकासाचं ठेवूया
वेध भविष्याचा घेऊया
युवाशक्तीला संधी देऊया
आणि फक्त मुद्द्याचं बोलूया!
हा मनातला निश्चियही… pic.twitter.com/2REoMiQAJM
— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) August 2, 2023
The Pawar scion claims he sets his ego aside when he goes to Ajit Pawar with any work related to his constituency. But, at the same time, he also adds he “doesn’t feel the same level of comfort with Ajit dada.”
Unlike most other politicians, who prefer to wear a kurta-pyjama, Rohit is seemingly appealing to a younger demographic of voters. Often sporting a shirt with denims, he actively takes up issues that affect the youth — whether it’s employment of students who have appeared for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission, having breakfast with students in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), or distributing cycles to students in his constituency.
It’s not only the party patriarch’s backing that Rohit has. Sharad Pawar’s daughter, MP Supriya Sule, who many claim was indirectly chosen to be successor of the party in June this year, also seems to wholeheartedly approve of the young leader.
“Rohit has always been a meticulous and studious boy. He was a shy introverted child who has blossomed into a confident and social boy. We are very proud of him,” Sule, an MP from Baramati, told ThePrint.
But not everyone is convinced. A leader of NCP’s Ajit Pawar camp who didn’t want to be named said “grand gestures” to claim attention may not be sustainable in the long run.
“Rohit, in order to quickly fill the void, is trying to make everything look grand. Be it his bike rallies or installing the tallest saffron flag in his constituency a few years back, all this he is trying to make it look grand,” he said. “But, this also means that people will start expecting a lot from him and he may not necessarily be able to deliver.”
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From a businessman to a politician
Rohit is the younger son of Appasaheb’s son Rajendra Pawar and his wife Sunanda. While other branches of the Pawar family have been decades into politics, Rohit’s side of the family have been relatively low-profile, either doing social work or running the family business, Baramati Agro.
Started by Appasaheb, Baramati Agro is a company that exports sugar, rice, and ethanol.
Rohit, too, joined the business in his 20s, actively being part of it from 2007 to 2017 — the year he made his first political foray.
“So, I realised that if you want to make a difference then, one has to be in the system. And there are two ways of being in the system — one can become an officer, which was not what I wanted, and the other to become a politician, which I chose,” Rohit, who’s still the chief executive of Baramati Agro, told ThePrint.
But instead of directly becoming a MLA or MP, Rohit decided to start at the grassroots level — he got elected into the Pune Zilla Parishad. He claims he did this mainly so he didn’t face allegations of nepotism.
“When I decided on contesting the Zilla Parishad polls, nobody wanted me to. None in my family except for my great-grandmother (Sharad Pawar’s mother, Shardabai Pawar) ever worked at Zilla Parishad level. It was tough but in 2017, I got elected as Pune Zilla Parishad member and started my political career,” he said.
But he had set his eyes on a bigger prize — the 2019 assembly elections. He won Karjat-Jamkhed seat by 43,347 votes after campaigning on issues such as water, electricity and industries.
He’s also following his granduncle in yet another field — cricket. While Sharad Pawar served as the chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2008 and the president of the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012, Rohit was elected president of Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) unopposed in January this year.
Although he has received flak for allegedly having no cricket background, Rohit insists he’s always loved the game and would work towards making more and more facilities available for players.
The chosen one?
The year 2019 saw two next-generation Pawar face elections — Rohit and Parth.
Parth wanted to contest from the Maval Lok Sabha constituency, then a stronghold of the undivided Shiv Sena. At that time, Sharad Pawar was himself looking at contesting from the Madha Lok Sabha constituency, considered to be an NCP stronghold.
When Parth remained adamant, the NCP patriarch decided to opt out, not wanting to field too many members from his own family. Eventually, Parth lost Maval and the NCP lost Madha.
“Sharad Pawar had reservations about launching Parth Pawar in the Lok Sabha election as he thought it would be a bit too early, but Ajit Pawar was projecting Parth strongly,” political analyst Deshpande said.
In contrast, Rohit always had Sharad Pawar’s strongest backing since his immediate family is not in politics, Deshpande said, adding that Rohit would frequently tour with the Maratha strongman and was “groomed well before he entered politics”.
It was also Rohit who accompanied Sharad Pawar on his tour of Maharashtra’s drought-hit districts just ahead of the 2019 Assembly Election. Being under the senior Pawar’s wing at the time gave Rohit the much needed visibility before the election.
Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is all praise for her nephew.
“We all are a large joint family who has lived in each other’s homes. And as far as Rohit is concerned, I can say that he is a very responsible boy,” the 54-year-old Baramati MP said.
Back in Beed, as the crowd chanted for Rohit to speak, the young MLA seemed a little hesitant at first to overshadow an established leader like Jayant Patil. But, then he got the final word of validation — a directive from his grand uncle Sharad Pawar himself to take the microphone and make a speech.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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