A memorial for late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is set to come up on the premises of Vidya Pratishthan in Baramati -- the renowned educational institution established by the Pawar family. The plan was confirmed by Kiran Gujar, a close associate of Ajit Pawar and a long-time confidant of the family. Gujar said the memorial has been proposed at the very spot on the Vidya Pratishthan campus where Ajit Pawar's last rites were performed.
He added that Sharad Pawar visited the site on Sunday before leaving for Mumbai, accompanied by Pratibha Pawar. " Sharad Pawar saheb visited the venue of the last rites along with Pratibha Pawar and instructed me and the trustees of Vidya Pratishthan to chalk out a plan for Ajit Dada's memorial," Gujar added, as per news agency PTI.
Design and structure to be finalised soon
Gujar mentioned that discussions with the trustees will take place shortly to finalise the design, layout and structure of the memorial. Ajit Pawar, a towering figure in Maharashtra politics, played a pivotal role in the growth and development of Baramati -- a constituency long regarded as the Pawar family's political stronghold. Gujar, who has been associated with the Pawar family for more than four decades, was known to be one of Ajit Pawar's closest confidants.
Sunetra Pawar takes oath as Deputy CM
Earlier on Saturday, Sunetra Pawar took oath as Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister, three days after her husband's demise. She was also allotted excise, sports, minority development and Aukaf departments, but not finance and planning which Ajit Pawar held. 62-year-old Sunetra Pawar resigned her Rajya Sabha membership.
She is not a member of either house of the state legislature at present, and is expected to contest the byelection to the Baramati assembly constituency represented by her late husband.
Ajit Pawar's death
It is to be noted here that the NCP chief died in a charter plane crash while travelling from Mumbai to Bramanti on Wednesday morning. 66-year-old Pawar was the nephew of veteran politician and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, and the cousin of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule. Notably, Ajit Pawar was also the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as Deputy Chief Minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. He is survived by his wife, Sunetra Pawar and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.
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