Sharad Pawar visits Mantralaya for official meeting—first time in 30 years

The Opposition delegation that met Maharashtra CEO S Chockalingam comprised former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Congress Working Committee member Balasaheb Thorat, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad, NCP (SP) state unit chief Shashikant Shinde, Peasants and Workers Party leader Jayant Patil, and leaders of Left parties.

The meeting holds importance as the state is set to witness local body polls, which is touted as a mini-Assembly battle, with the joint delegation seen as an effort to showcase Opposition unity ahead of the elections.

Pawar’s last visit to Mantralaya was in 2012 when he was the Union agriculture minister. He had come to inspect the building, which was damaged due to a fire.

In 1995, after the Maharashtra Assembly polls resulted in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance achieving the majority mark with the help of Independents, the Pawar-led Congress government was dethroned. He resigned on March 14, 1995. Until Lok Sabha elections in 1996, he served as the leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. In 1996, he successfully contested the Baramati Lok Sabha seat and left Mumbai for Delhi.

“For three decades since then, despite being the centre of Maharashtra’s politics, Pawar never entered Mantralaya. He was in Delhi taking interest in national politics. He never set foot there,” a close associate of Pawar said.

In 1999, Pawar split from the Congress to form the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). For 15 years, his party was in power in Maharashtra and he let his now estranged nephew Ajit Pawar and other trusted leaders handle the state business. “He did attend meetings, but those were in Sahyadri official government guest house. Never in Mantralaya,” the associate added.

Pawar’s private office at the Y B Chavan Centre near Mantralaya was considered as one of the power centres in the state’s administrative circles for years.

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