NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar on his 84th birthday in Delhi on Thursday.

The meeting comes after their bitter campaign during the recent assembly elections targeting each other’s parties.

Ajit was accompanied by senior party leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Sunil Tatkare, along with his wife Sunetra Pawar and elder son Parth Pawar.

Earlier in the day, the Pawar junior took to ‘X’ to extend his wishes to the NCP patriarch. “Best wishes to Sharad Pawar Saheb on his birthday! May you get good health and a long life,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended his greetings. “Birthday wishes to Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader, Shri Sharad Pawar Ji. I pray for his long and healthy life,” he said in a social media post.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also took to X to wish the senior Pawar.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Ajit noted, “Some relations are beyond politics. Politics is also not only about criticism. Yashwatrao Chavan (first chief minister of Maharashtra) has taught us how to do cultured politics and we try to follow him.”

“We also had general discussions on several issues, right from Parbhani violence to Parliament disruption, state cabinet expansion among others,” he added.

Pawar’s grandnephew Yugendra, who had contested the assembly elections against Ajit, said the visit was a family affair with nothing to do with politics.

Sources said it was also the first time the party had not made any plans to celebrate the party supremo’s birthday, unlike previous years.

“We always come to take his blessings on his birthday and this time we came to seek Saheb’s blessings,” Praful Patel said after meeting Sharad.

Tatkare and Bhujbal echoed similar sentiments, saying they were following tradition. “We felt happy to greet him on his birthday,” Bhujbal said.

Commenting on the meeting, Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat told ANI, “…Sharad Pawar sahab never stayed attached with one party, he left and stayed with Congress many times… It is a possibility that they may come together in the future… It seems that the negotiations are going on and all the leaders may unite…Ajit Dada said today that cabinet expansion will take place and that will be decided in the CM-DCM meeting being held tonight or tomorrow…”

According to reports, Ajit Pawar will also be attending a small dinner party in the national capital. Sharad Pawar’s office confirmed the dinner and said that it was for “close friends.” The guest list also includes National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and Shiv Sena’s RS member Milind Deora.

In 2023, the Pawar versus Pawar rift became public after Ajit Pawar’s rebellion when his breakaway NCP faction pledged support to the Maharashtra government. He was sworn in as joint deputy chief minister, resulting in the Eknath Shinde-led government having two deputy CMs, with Devendra Fadnavis being the other.

The Congress and the NCP (SP) are in alliance in Maharashtra. In the assembly polls held last month, the Opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance suffered a major defeat. The NCP (SP) (of Sharad Pawar) won just 10 out of 288 assembly constituencies in the state polls. The Congress was restricted to 16 seats.

The Mahayuti alliance posted its biggest ever victory with 230 seats in the state.