Don't force me to open my mouth: Ajit warns Pawar family opposing wife

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday sought support for his wife in the Lok Sabha polls and sent out a message to Baramati voters, telling them they have elected his uncle Sharad Pawar's daughter three times, but now they should elect his daughter-in-law.

Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra, the Nationalist Congress Party candidate, is pitted against her sister-in-law and sitting Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar, in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district. Sule is the candidate of NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar.

Baramati, from where Ajit Pawar is an MLA, is the home turf of the Pawar family.

"...You have been with the Pawars for so long, but now there must be some thought about what to do (in Lok Sabha polls) as there are two candidates from the same family. You must be wondering whom to support, whom to vote for. It is simple, as you have been with the Pawars for so long, just go and vote for (another) Pawar (referring to Sunetra Pawar)," he said.

The deputy CM, who heads the ruling NCP, was speaking at a programme of party workers in Baramati.

By voting for (Sunetra) Pawar, people won't be breaking the tradition of supporting the family, said the deputy CM.

"Recall the 1991 Lok Sabha elections when you elected the son, meaning me. Later, you elected the father, meaning Pawar saheb, and after that you voted for the daughter, meaning Supriya Sule, for three consecutive terms. Now, just go and elect the daughter-in-law (Sunetra Pawar). Everything will be balanced," he remarked.

The NCP leader added that by doing this, everyone -- son, father, daughter, and daughter-in-law -- will be happy.

Taking potshots at his cousins and family members who are currently opposing him and siding with Sharad Pawar, the deputy CM said in none of his elections his cousins campaigned for him.

"But now all are working. You (cousins) did not feel like working for me when I contested elections. Are you going to work after this election? There will only be Ajit Pawar and his party workers and no one will be there. Their (family members) work is temporary. They are like mushrooms that grow in rains but after polls, all these mushrooms will go on foreign trips," he quipped.

Ajit Pawar said he is exercising restraint while speaking, but if he decides to speak openly, it would be difficult for many of these people to move in public or show their faces.

"Do not force me to open my mouth," he warned his family detractors.

Elections to the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra will be held in five phases from April 19 to May 20. In Baramati, polling will be held on May 7.