- Naresh Arora, founder of Design Boxed, remembered the Maharashtra deputy chief minister as a thorough person
- Arora was one of the last people to speak to Ajit Pawar before he died in a plane crash
- The political consultant said Pawar had a special place for Baramati in his heart
Ajit Pawar was a hard taskmaster and a rare politician who didn't just call people and ask them to do something, but actually followed up to ensure it was done, one of his closest advisers, who was one of the last people to speak to him, has said.
Speaking to NDTV's Padmaja Joshi on Wednesday, hours after the Maharashtra deputy chief minister's plane crashed in Baramati, killing him and all four others on board, Naresh Arora, a political consultant and founder of Design Boxed, said Pawar will be remembered for bringing in a culture of accountability.
"His political and personal legacy would be that the institutions he built, the people he empowered and the culture of accountability that he has left behind. He never used to call up someone and just say 'get this done', he would ask the person to call him back when it was done. Not many politicians work like that. He was very, very thorough and he was a taskmaster who wanted things to be completed well, and not just ticked off a checklist," Arora said.
Pawar was the MLA from the Baramati constituency since 1991 and, along with his uncle Sharad Pawar, is credited with bringing about development in the area.
Arora said the NCP chief had a special place in his heart for Baramati and used to pay extra attention to make sure his constituents were not taken for a ride by officials or anyone else.
Asked if he had any firsthand experience of Pawar being a hard disciplinarian, the political consultant described the politician as "relentless".
"Our very first meeting lasted a couple of hours and I could see that this was a person who worked very hard, but this was not getting across to the public. When we decided to work together, I knew that awareness was something he could benefit from," he said.
Ajit Pawar's last rites will be conducted in Baramati with state honours at 11 am on Thursday. The ceremony is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.
