Day after Ajit Pawar’s challenge over Shirur, Amol Kolhe meets Sharad Pawar

Kolhe has sided with Sharad Pawar in the ongoing tussle between the NCP chief and his nephew Ajit Pawar.

The Shirur MP announced that the Shetkari Janakrosh Morcha will start from Shivneri in his constituency and pass through the neighbouring Baramati parliamentary seat, which is represented by Supriya Sule. Sule is his colleague in Lok Sabha as well as the executive president of the Nationalist Congress Party.

“I am from a middle-class family and I consider it as my honour if a senior leader has challenged me. Ajit Pawar was a senior leader of the party and I am too small a person and it doesn’t suit me to make counter remarks on his statement,” Kolhe said when asked about the challenge of the deputy chief minister to defeat him in the Lok Sabha election.

“I do respect him as a person. His statement might have come due to a change in political stand and I will try to understand why he said so after meeting him,” he added.

Asked if he discussed the challenge posed by Ajit Pawar with Sharad Pawar, Kolhe said, “There is democracy and everyone in it has the right to apply all its strength but the decision is taken by the public. The NCP chief said that he has full trust in the voters of the Shirur Lok Sabha constituency. An election is a democratic process, there will be a rival candidate and no one will go unopposed. We have the right to take the work done by us to the voters.”

He said, “I contested the election on an NCP ticket. There was a contribution of all senior leaders and party cadre of the Shirur constituency in winning the seat. The NCP chief has contributed to bringing a major change in the constituency. It is due to his efforts that horticulture increased and there was an improvement in the financial situation of farmers of the constituency. He is the one who developed MIDC in Chakan, Sanaswadi and Information Technology Park in the constituency.”

Everyone worked in the 2019 elections under the guidance of Sharad Pawar, he said adding, “There are others who have changed their political stand and I really don’t know why. I am still where I was in 2019.”

Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar is on an official visit to the Shirur Lok Sabha constituency to review the development works in the area.

“The official visit does not have to do anything with the statement of the challenge to defeat the sitting MP in Shirur. However, the challenge stands and there will be no change in it,” Ajit Pawar said during his visit.