- Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar attended the engagement of Yugendra Pawar in Mumbai
- Yugendra Pawar contested Maharashtra Assembly polls against uncle Ajit Pawar but lost
- The Pawar family has gathered for events despite political rivalry since the 2023 split
Two years since a split within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) positioned them as political rivals, Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar continued to be part of family affairs without any hint of animosity - this time at the engagement of the former's grandnephew Yugendra Pawar with Tanishka Kulkarni.
The Pawar family attended the traditional engagement ceremony held at Ms Kulkarni's Mumbai residence on Sunday
Apart from Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar also attended the ceremony. Supriya Sule posted photos of the event, wishing the couple on the occasion. "Heartiest congratulations, Tanishka and Yugendra! Wishing you both a lifetime of love and happiness. Thank you to the Kulkarni family for the warm hospitality," she wrote on X.
The NCP split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the then Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government. The party name and its clock symbol were given to the now-Deputy Chief Minister's faction, while the one headed by the former Union agriculture minister was christened NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Yugendra Pawar, was a candidate from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, in the Maharashtra Assembly elections against his uncle Ajit Pawar from Baramati. The latter won the election.
Baramati saw another Pawar versus Pawar contest, after Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, defeated Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, during the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Political ties remained frosty, but the the Pawar clan came together for family events, last seen together at Ajit Pawar's son Jay Pawar's wedding which was held in Pune with great pomp.
In April, the uncle-nephew duo were seen sharing the stage at three events. When asked about his meetings with senior Pawar a matter of weeks, the deputy chief minister downplayed their political significance, saying families come together on occasions like engagements, and there was no need to interpret them from any other perspective.
