Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday formed an inquiry committee to probe the allegations of graft and irregularities in a Pune land deal, involving a company linked to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar, even as the Deputy CM denied any role in it.
The inquiry will be conducted by additional chief secretary (revenue) Vikas Kharge, even as Pune district collector has said the sale deed would be cancelled.
Parth is the grand-nephew of NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, who remains one of the country’s most formidable politicians, with decades of experience as CM, Union minister.
His political debut came in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when he was chosen as the undivided NCP candidate from the Maval constituency near Pune. His candidacy, reportedly championed by his father, was seen as an early attempt to position him as the next face of the family’s political future.
Sharad Pawar, who initially planned to contest the polls himself, withdrew to accommodate Parth’s entry. Despite his high-profile surname and the backing of the party machinery, Parth was defeated by a margin of over two lakh votes by the undivided Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne, resulting in the first significant setback for the Pawar family in its stronghold. “I got into politics a month ago. Give me a year, I will be a pro,” he had said after the loss.
After the loss, Parth worked to re-establish himself, spending more time in Maval and the urban belt of Pimpri-Chinchwad, long considered Ajit Pawar’s political turf. He has also been involved in constituency-level activities, party meetings, and outreach initiatives designed to rebuild grassroots support.
Observers note that Parth’s growing public visibility coincides with his father’s shifting political alignments. Ajit Pawar’s periodic proximity to the BJP and his eventual split from Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction in 2023 have given rise to speculation that Parth’s more right-leaning statements were not coincidental but part of a larger political recalibration.
Story continues below this ad
A senior political analyst had told The Indian Express, “There is no fire without smoke. The political sagacity suddenly shown by Parth has something to do with his father’s proximity to the BJP.” This reading situates Parth as both a political experimenter and a barometer of his father’s future strategies.
Parth’s frequent and provocative online posts too have often stirred controversy. In July 2020, at the height of the public outcry over actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, Parth differed from the MVA government’s stand and publicly advocated a CBI inquiry into the case.
“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 said.
The same year in September, he yet again ruffled feathers by voicing support for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration and described it as the beginning of “Ram Rajya” in modern India. The comments triggered a public reprimand from Sharad Pawar, who dismissed his remarks as “immature”, “What my grand-nephew says is not worth a dime to me,” he had said.
Story continues below this ad
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, yet again drawing flak from Ajit who said the government had already moved the court in the matter. “The state government has already gone to 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.
The current case, which first surfaced in 2022 is with regard to a deal pertaining to a 40-acre land in Mundhwa area of Pune, near the upmarket Koregaon Park area. The land, reportedly worth Rs 1,800 crore, was allegedly sold to Amedea Enterprises LLP, where Parth is a partner, for Rs 300 crore with a stamp duty waiver of Rs 21 crore.
The transaction drew criticism from Opposition leaders, who alleged misuse of political influence and violation of land-transfer laws. Then-CM Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe to determine whether due legal procedures were followed.
Story continues below this ad
Parth, on his part, has maintained that he “did nothing wrong” and that the deal was fully compliant with the law.
Last year, his meeting with gangster Gajanan Marne triggered backlash with Ajit Pawar publicly saying his son should not have met him. “This is wrong. Parth should not have met the gangster. I am collecting information in this regard,” Ajit Pawar had said.
Parth’s meeting with Marne was perceived to be a way of reaching out to the youth head of the Assembly polls. Marne wields considerable influence in the Kothrud area of Pune – a BJP bastion – and has a strong base among the youth.