Ajit Pawar swaps nameplates to avoid sitting next to Sharad Pawar at Pune event
The move comes amid speculation that factions led by the two leaders could be looking at burying the hatchet and reuniting on the NCP's foundation day in Pune today
Pune, Jun 9 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday swapped the nameplates kept on the dais at an event in Pune to avoid sitting right next to uncle and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, the move coming amid speculation that factions led by the two leaders could be looking at burying the hatchet and reuniting.
The NCP split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the then Eknath Shinde government. The party name and clock symbol was given to the Ajit Pawar faction, while the one headed by the former Union agriculture minister was christened NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
The nameplate swap took place at an event at the Vasantdada Sugar Institute to discuss the use of artificial intelligence in farming.
As per the initial sitting arrangements, the nameplates of the two leaders were next to each other. However, the deputy CM moved the board having his name one chair away to allow state cooperation minister Babasaheb Patil to sit between him and the NCP (SP) chief.
Incidentally, the sequence of events was a rerun of a similar act by Ajit Pawar at VSI itself this January. That time too, he had allowed Patil to sit next to Sharad Pawar. PTI