Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar once again avoided sharing the stage with his estranged uncle Sharad Pawar by remaining absent for the governing council meeting of the Pune-based Vasantdada Sugar Institute. This would be the second time when Ajit Pawar had avoided being on the same platform as his uncle since he broke away from NCP to join the Eknath Shinde-led government in the state. On Friday, the governing council of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute met to discuss among other things, the various issues related to the sugar industry. Sharad Pawar, chairman of the board of trustees, and vice-chairman Dilip Walse Patil were present at the meeting. Ajit Pawar, who is also a member of the governing body, was expected to attend the meeting. Sources close to Ajit said he was to travel to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the evening and therefore he skipped the meeting. A month back on a similar occasion, Dilip Walse Patil was present while Ajit Pawar skipped the meeting, with Patil claiming that it has been decided that the functions of the day would be split among themselves. Walse Patil is among the nine NCP MLAs who backed Ajit Pawar and joined the Shinde ministry Friday’s meeting, sources said, was a routine one and called to discuss the affairs of the institution.
