Five Pawars, One Family: Blood Thicker Than Water

Veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s unopposed election to the Rajya Sabha became a reality for two reasons. Firstly, he himself had never indicated that he wasn’t interested in another term in the Upper House of Parliament. Pawar is now 86. So, when he retires, he will be 91. At that time, he will be among the oldest parliamentarians in the world. Secondly, the party statistics in the Maharashtra legislative assembly is such that had there been an election, the ruling Mahayuti could have won six of the seats comfortably and could even have attempted for the remaining seat if the combined Opposition were to field anyone except Pawar. In fact, such a message was sent to the Opposition. Ultimately, the power play went in favour of Pawar. The outcome is that Pawar and his grandson Parth Ajit Pawar (35) will be facing each other from the two sides of the Rajya Sabha, perhaps a unique occurrence in the annals of Indian democracy. Already, Supriya Sule, sole child of Pawar, is in the Lok Sabha. At the state level, late Ajit’s wife Sunetra is the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. Pawar’s another grandson, Rohit, is a member of the legislative assembly. Thus, five members of the Pawar clan are law makers. Blood is thicker than water, it is said. Once again it has been proved how true it is.