The Pawar pari-war

The inside story of the Sharad-Ajit feud and what it portends for the family and the NCP

REBEL MOVES: Ajit Pawar speaks at the NCP function where Sharad Pawar had offered to resign, May 2. (Photo: ANI)

When Ajit Pawar finally walked out on uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, most put it down to political expediency. The new deputy chief minister’s vaulting ambition was said to have hit a glass ceiling on the opposition benches, and by the rise of cousin and Pawar Sr’s daughter Supriya Sule.