A picture of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar meeting a Pune-based strongman with a criminal record hit the headlines on Friday, bringing in a lot of attention. But not the kind an up-and-coming politician would have anticipated or wanted.

Finding himself in a pickle as the picture went viral and generated backlash, Ajit was quick to respond. “This is wrong. Parth should not have met the gangster. I am collecting information in this regard,” said the Deputy CM. Parth, who regularly takes to X to make his views on various issues public, has so far not issued a response.

This row comes at a time when Parth is attempting to find his feet politically. He contested his first Lok Sabha election in 2019 from Maval in Pune district but lost heavily — over two lakh votes — to Shrirang Barne of the Shiv Sena.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had openly voiced his opposition to fielding Parth from Maval, a decision that created much tension between him and Ajit, his nephew. The decision to field Parth came at the cost of Pawar withdrawing from the race. The senior Pawar was said to be keen that not more than two members of his family should contest the elections. Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, contested and won from the family borough of Baramati. Parth’s position in the party going forward is also said to have been a point of contention between Ajit and his uncle.

Since Ajit parted ways with Pawar and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP with his faction of the NCP last July, Parth has been touring and preparing ground as his father prepares to go to polls on his own. Parth is learnt to have again expressed his intention of contesting from Maval in the coming parliamentary polls but it could emerge as a problem with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said to be keen on again fielding Barne from the seat.

Parth’s meeting with the “gangster”, Gajanan Marne, is being looked at as a way of reaching out to the youth as he readies for the polls. Marne wields considerable heft in the Kothrud area of Pune and has a strong base among the youth. In February 2023, when he was acquitted in two murder cases, thousands of his supporters held a mega rally in his “honour”, bringing the traffic in the Kothrud-Warje area to a standstill.

Past rows

Earlier too, Parth’s outspoken views and actions put the undivided NCP in the spot. In June 2020, he demanded a CBI probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, writing a letter to then state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

“The untimely death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has shocked the nation. His death has sadly come to represent the death of the aspirations of young Indians… I join the youth of this nation in their collective mourning. Their demand is logical and fair,” Parth wrote.

Sharad Pawar had reprimanded his grand-nephew in a conversation, with reports saying that his statements did not mean much to him and even called Parth “immature”.

In August 2020, Parth spoke in favour of PM Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. None of the senior party leaders endorsed the position. He tweeted: “Finally, Ram, who embodied the faith and cultural identity of India, will be now in peace. The fight was bitter and long… It is a historic day when we will witness the reinstallation of the Hindu faith. Ram Lalla being given his due in Ayodhya in modern India also reminds us of Ramrajya. During Ramrajya, Ram was worshipped because every living being, let alone humans, was treated with dignity.”

Just days earlier, Sharad Pawar, when asked about the temple, said controlling Covid-19 cases was the party’s top priority.

A month later, in October, Parth announced he would file an intervention plea in the Supreme Court on the top court’s stay on Maratha reservation at the time.

Ajit said everyone was free to think and tweet on any subject. Sharad Pawar again signalled his disapproval saying that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)-led state government had already approached the court seeking vacation of the stay order. “The state government has already gone to the court on the reservation issue. If anyone else wants to approach the court, they can do so… 10 people can go to court. The NCP and Maharashtra government’s stand is to get the stay lifted,” he said.