A matriarch of the Pawar household recently underwent a surgical operation. Ajit Pawar went to visit Pratibha Pawar after she had undergone a surgery. But who is Pratibha Pawar and why is she in the news?

Who is Pratibha Pawar?

Pratibha Pawar is Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar’s wife. She underwent a surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai on Friday, a party functionary said.

She underwent surgery on her hand, the functionary from the Sharad Pawar faction said without elaborating.

Interestingly, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited Sharad Pawar’s residence Silver Oak to visit his aunt Pratibha whom he is supposedly close to. This is his first visit to Silver Oak after he rebelled against his uncle Sharad Pawar, split the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

Ajit Pawar is the son of Sharad Pawar’s brother who split from the NCP along with eight other NCP MLAs to joined Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

In political circles, everybody is well-versed with Ajit Pawar’s proximity to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019, she reportedly played an important role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he formed a short lived government post the Assembly polls with Devendra Fadnavis.

Called  ‘kaki’ by NCP leaders, Pratibha Pawar is often viewed as the matriarch of the party, although she has never taken an active part in politics.

Chhagan Bhujbal, minister in the Maharashtra cabinet and also part of the Ajit Pawar camp, had earlier expressed concerns over Pratibha Pawar’s health. “I pray for her speedy recovery and would urge party’s activists to wish for her well-being,” he said.

Meanwhile, Friday also saw a lot of political activity amidst a lot of speculation about the portfolios being given to Ajit Pawar’s men, the breakaway faction of NCP. Ajit Pawar managed to get the finance and planning department for himself and six other departments for his other colleagues. The other ministries secured by the Ajit Pawar group are food and civil supplies, cooperatives, women and child development, agriculture, relief and rehabilitation, and medical education departments.