Pune, Apr 6 NCP leader Parth Pawar on Monday said the Congress would "suffer" for fielding a candidate against his mother and Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar in the Baramati assembly bypoll, drawing a rare public rebuke from NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and a sharp reaction from the grand old party.
Pawar senior questioned the "political maturity" of his grandnephew while upholding the Congress's "right" to contest an election as an independent political party.
The Congress was unsparing in words, reminding Parth of the "Pune land scam" and taunting him as an "ungrateful son" who surrendered before the "superpower".
The exchange of words stemmed from the Congress's refusal to allow an unopposed election in Baramati as a tribute to late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, whose wife is in the fray to claim his political legacy.
The ruling Mahayuti had sought an unopposed election as a mark of respect to Ajit Pawar. The NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) too didn't field candidates; however, the Congress chose to contest by announcing the name of Akash More for the April 23 byelection.
"I have not spoken to anyone (in the Congress). They should understand. Everyone (in the Congress) knows what is happening, so let them decide, but they will soon come to know what kind of suffering they will face in the state. Despite knowing the situation and people's love towards Ajitdada, they are doing this (fielding their candidate)," Parth Pawar said in Pune after Sunetra Pawar filed her nomination papers.
He also said that the NCP will not make any phone call to anyone, adding that "whatever is written in destiny, it will happen. But I am sad there is a downfall of Congress in Maharashtra".
Responding to his remarks, Sharad Pawar, who is in New Delhi, said that making such statements in politics requires maturity, and he is unsure whether that level of political maturity has been attained.
"There is no reason to seek an unopposed election. Being an independent political party, the Congress has every right to contest the Baramati byelection," the NCP (SP) chief told reporters after taking oath as a Rajya Sabha member.
Slamming Parth, the Congress said it was a "bit too much that a son who can't even deliver a speech properly and has just become an MP due to the accumulated merits of his family is talking about the downfall of the Congress".
In a post on X, the state Congress said the "ungrateful son" stayed silent as a matter of political convenience to escape scrutiny in the land scam investigation, right after his father's suspicious accidental death, and those who surrendered before the "superpower" should refrain from speaking about us.
The Congress stated that it was the Karnataka government ruled by the party which allowed registration of an FIR to secure justice for Parth Pawar's father (Ajit Pawar, who was killed in a plane crash).
"Additionally, the Congress candidate in the Baramati bypoll has demanded that if an FIR in the plane crash is registered in Baramati, he will withdraw from the race," the party said.
"Shouldn't this ungrateful son speak about this, too?" the Congress asked.
Earlier in the day, senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare had said the party was trying to contact Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to ensure an unopposed election in Baramati.
"Praful Patel and I are trying to ensure an unopposed election. We will urge Khargeji and make him understand the stature of Ajitdada in the state and the background in which this election is taking place," said Tatkare, adding that the party would also try to speak to Congress's Maharashtra unit chief Harshwardhan Sapkal.
Speaking to reporters, former Union minister and NCP leader Patel said it has been a tradition of the state that whenever any legislator dies in such a manner, the subsequent bypoll largely takes place unopposed.
"We will appeal to Congress to help this bypoll be held unopposed, and they are already trying to speak to Khargeji," Patel added.
The last date for withdrawal of nomination is April 9, while counting of votes will take place on May 4.