‘Development is not merely about concrete roads’: Sunetra Pawar in Roha on her first official visit

State NCP president Sunil Tatkare and other party leaders were also present.

Sunetra said she attended the event to ensure that the tradition of development started by Ajit Pawar remains uninterrupted.

“Dada always took the side of Konkan. He had immense affection for the people here. I am saying this because, as his life partner, I know this firsthand. He truly loved the people of this region,” she said.

Sunetra took over as the deputy chief minister on January 31 after Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash on January 28. Since then, she had travelled beyond Baramati, Pune, and Mumbai only once, NCP sources said.

”That visit was also to Konkan, but to attend a wedding of a party leader’s daughter. It was not an official visit. Today’s was the first official visit outside Pune, Baramati, and Mumbai,” a source said.

Even during last month’s Baramati Assembly bypoll, Sunetra did not campaign extensively. It was her younger son, Jay Pawar, who led his mother’s campaign. Sunetra won by a record margin that even Ajit Pawar could not achieve in his eight victories.

Describing Konkan as the backbone of Maharashtra, Sunetra said, “Konkan is truly a ‘devbhoomi’ (land of gods), and the people here have built it with immense hard work.”

Tributes from Sunil Tatkare and Aditi Tatkare

In his speech, Tatkare said that one could always count on Ajit Pawar’s trust and support. “The state has experienced him as a ‘vikas purush’ (man of development). There can never be another Dada, but we will continue to work with the vision he provided. Today, there are tears in one eye and joy in the other because Vahini (Sunetra Pawar) is carrying forward Dada’s vision of development.”

Tatkare highlighted how Ajit Pawar rushed to help Konkan with a special package during Cyclone Nisarga and how he served people during the Covid pandemic personally.

He added, “Dada inaugurated many projects. Today you are performing the groundbreaking, and by the end of this year, you will have to come back for the final inauguration.”

Tatkare, who became emotional during his speech, said, “I am 71 years old, but not a single day goes by without remembering Dada. Baramati is the first ‘role model’ of development in this country, and Dada’s breath can be felt in every tree and flower there. Similarly, his impact is visible here in Roha.”

Tatkare remarked that just as the country knows Mayawati as “Behen”, Mamata Banerjee as “Didi”, and J Jayalalithaa as “Amma”, Sunetra Pawar will be known as the country’s first “Vahini” (sister-in-law).

Minister Aditi Tatkare was moved to tears while speaking about Ajit Pawar. “The grief over Dada’s absence will always remain. We consider ourselves fortunate to have had a leader like him. Wherever he is, his eye will be on Baramati, on his close friend Tatkare Saheb, and on this land. Just as Dada loved Raigad, Sunetra Kaki will also look after us.”