Ajit a complete antithesis of his uncle Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar, who is Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, have one thing in common – both get up early and start their day by either meeting people in the field or at the meeting venue. Besides, both have never lost any election since they have entered active politics. However, the notable difference between them is that Pawar senior has a mountain of patience while Ajit is shorttempered and a man in hurry. So when Pawar senior was busy working out alliance deal with Shiv Sena and Congress to form a Maha Vikas Aghadi to keep BJP out of power post assembly elections last year, Ajit got irritated and angry with Congress party’s never-ending wish list and lef t the Nehru Centre mid-way. Later he became inaccessible only to be seen on TV channels taking an oath on early Saturday morning as the Deputy Chief Minister at the swearing-in function af ter Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister at the Raj Bhavan. Ajit’s decision shook his uncle and his party and also Shiv Sena and Congress. Ajit’s move to join hands with the BJP in an act of overnight rebellion was reminiscent of his uncle Sharad Pawar ’s coup against a government formed by two Congress factions to become the state's youngest chief minister 41 years ago. However, Pawar senior led the government till it was dissolved by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But in case of Ajit, his coup ended in four days af ter he was isolated and failed to mobilise enough numbers to stay with BJP. The rest is histor y now.

He became DCM fourth time af ter he was sworn in the CM Uddhav Thackeray led government in December last year. He got on to the job handling crucial finance and planning departments by winning Thackeray’s confidence. In a short span, he created his mark through his command on administration. He presented a please-all budget in March.