Mumbai, Nov 7 (IANS): Although they are politically divided, NCP National President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar gave an ultimatum to his Mahayuti alliance partners and said that he and his party would not tolerate any personal attack against his estranged uncle and veteran politician Sharad Pawar who now heads the NCP(SP).

Ajit Pawar’s stern warning comes at a time when the campaign for the Assembly elections is gathering momentum.

The trigger for Ajit Pawar’s outburst is BJP legislator and Ryat Kranti Sanghatana chief Sadabhau Khot’s venomous criticism of Pawar senior during the poll rally of BJP nominee Gopichand Padalkar from the Jat constituency in Sangli district.

“Pawar saheb says he wants to change the face of Maharashtra. What face? You want to make the face of Maharashtra like yours?” Khot allegedly said.

Khot’s move to level personal attacks against Sharad Pawar not only led to strong reactions from NCP(SP) but also from the Ajit Pawar faction.

Khot’s timing to target Pawar senior by stooping to such a low has also embarrassed the BJP and Shiv Sena, which along with the Ajit Pawar faction in the Mahayuti are gearing up to approach voters on the development plank.

In a strongly worded comment, Ajit Pawar slammed Khot and warned the Mahayuti that he and his party would not accept any personal criticism against Sharad Pawar.

“Sadabhau Khot's statement about respected senior leader Pawar Saheb is very wrong and reprehensible. It is totally unacceptable for us to make personal criticism of Pawar Saheb at such a low level. This is not the culture of our Maharashtra.

“On behalf of the Nationalist Congress Party and personally, I strongly condemn this statement. Henceforth, NCP will not tolerate any personal criticism against Sharad Pawar,” he warned.

It was not just Ajit Pawar but NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s close confidant Dilip Walse-Patil, who has deserted him and joined hands with Ajit Pawar, who also slammed Khot saying that “Sadabhau Khot has stooped to a low level and made a disgusting statement about the respected Sharad Pawar Sahib, our senior leader and the pillar of all. I condemn the statement, it is a very outrageous one.

“We will never tolerate such statements. Also, everyone should avoid these kinds of statements and conduct poll campaign with a sense of purpose and awareness.”

It must be mentioned that Ajit Pawar has already told his party leaders including ministers and nominees apart from other functionaries not to criticise Sharad Pawar personally nor level any baseless allegations realising that Pawar senior will get sympathy and this will help his party a lot.

Ajit Pawar had experienced it personally after he had targeted his estranged uncle during the Lok Sabha elections where his wife Sunetra Pawar lost to NMC(SP) nominee Supriya Sule in a Pawar vs Pawar fight.

Ajit Pawar has asked the party functionaries to corner the Sharad Pawar-led party and other Opposition parties on policy issues, avoiding personal remarks.

Interestingly, Ajit Pawar, who is engaged in a fierce fight against his nephew and NCP(SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar in Baramati constituency, during the Lok Sabha elections never reacted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘bhatakti atma (wandering soul)’ jibe at Sharad Pawar.

Further, Ajit Pawar preferred not to react after Union Home Minister Amit Shah terming Sharad Pawar as “bhrashtachar ka sabse bada sargana (Godfather of corruption)” during the BJP rally at Pune held in July.

However, Ajit Pawar reacted to Khot’s attack against Sharad Pawar realising that it may badly hamper his poll prospects in Baramati.

Meanwhile, after strong protests, Khot apologised saying that he had no intention to sarcastically target anyone’s deformity.

“I take back those words, I apologise,” he said.