Pimpri-Chinchwad: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been on an intensive tour of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad as the 15th January elections approach. He has spent most days in the district
over the past three weeks. While campaigning for his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Sunday, Pawar delivered a firebrand speech marked by self-promotion, sharp wit, and assured entertainment -- something Marathi audiences have come to expect whenever Ajit Pawar takes the stage.
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Pawar held a public rally to campaign for NCP candidates in the upcoming PCMC elections. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Anna Bansode, former MLA Vilas Lande, and other party leaders were present on the occasion.
During Pawar’s speech, a party worker from the crowd shouted, “Dada, we love you!” The remark drew applause, prompting Ajit Pawar to respond in his trademark style. Playfully scolding the worker, he said, “Keep that ‘we love you’ aside and press the clock button (vote for NCP). Go home and say ‘love you’ to your wife. She will wonder what has gotten into him today.” The comment triggered laughter across the venue.
Pawar also launched sharp attacks during his Sunday speech in Bhosari and concluded on an unusual note by reciting a shayari. The verse conveyed that not every dream succeeds through pride or talk alone, and that only those who step onto the field and prove their ability earn recognition.
‘Everything is going well for me’
Ajit Pawar further said, "This time, if you do not listen to what I am saying, your own sons and daughters will not forgive you. This city will be ruined -- it is already being ruined. Then, they will claim once again that they have the public's support. They will charge forward like 'Bakasuras' (gluttonous demons). Think about this.”
Pawar reiterated, saying, “It makes no difference to me; I am doing quite well by my uncle’s blessings. What is true is true. But what will happen to you? I have nurtured this city like a precious pearl (literally: like a blister on one's palm). I love this city.”
Pawar added, “They are raising emotional issues now, saying we should leave ‘our own man’ and choose an ‘outsider.’ Who is an outsider? Even if my birthplace is Baramati, my workplace is Pimpri-Chinchwad. It is this Pimpri-Chinchwad that gave me an identity across the Asian continent. A coin has two sides; my coin has Baramati on one side and Pimpri-Chinchwad on the other.”
Pawar also said, “Now, some people are asking if something happens here, should we make a call to Baramati? Listen, for 25 years, as this area developed, no one had to go to Baramati. The man from Baramati himself used to come here and ensure development. Don’t tell people lies. I have that strength. I am a worker who visits Pune every week.”
