Mumbai: With Jayant Patil stepping down as Maharashtra president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) last month and MLC Shashikant Shinde succeeding him, young MLA Rohit Pawar has stepped into a more prominent role.
The 39-year-old grandnephew of NCP (SP) patriarch Sharad Pawar has been made the party’s general secretary and also given the charge of its all front cells. He has sharpened his attacks on the Maharashtra government since his appointment, from exposing ministers’ alleged misconduct to joining public protests.
Rohit’s elevation within the party seems to have come with the licence to take the government head-on on various issues. Just about 10 days ago, he shared a video of state minister Manikrao Kokate, a close aide of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, purportedly playing rummy inside the House.
He was the first to put the video out. The clip created a huge uproar, eventually embarrassing the Mahayuti government, which removed Kokate as agriculture minister and moved him to the sports ministry.
Last month, Pawar joined teachers’ overnight protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan over their demands. He also made critical social media posts on the appointment of former BJP spokesperson Aarti Sathe as a Bombay High Court judge.
Many believe Jayant Patil and Rohit Pawar have been in a cold war situation. Now with Patil no longer the state president, Rohit is asserting his presence.
“Not really a cold war, but during the JP times (Jayant Patil), he was not given any responsibility within the party and was in the shadows. But now he is able to show his capabilities,” said a party functionary close to Rohit Pawar.
सुप्रभात!#हुंकार_आंदोलन, आझाद मैदान, मुंबई.
लढा शिक्षकांच्या हक्काचा, शिक्षण क्षेत्राला वाचवण्याचा! pic.twitter.com/CFHLMzFfxr
— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) July 9, 2025
With Rohit taking a stand against the government and trying to corner them on every issue, the functionary quoted above said Rohit is able to take a decisive stand with the conviction of ideology.
“The previous party president was soft and polite by nature. He would soften the blows while taking a stand. But that isn’t the case with Rohit dada. He knows where he stands and what is right or wrong. And he doesn’t hesitate in that,” the functionary said.
ThePrint tried to reach Rohit Pawar via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Playing aggressive
Often sporting a casual shirt and jeans, Rohit Pawar has started asserting himself more after he was elected MLA for the second term from the Karjat Jamkhed constituency. Even during his first term as MLA, he tried to take the centrestage after the NCP split in 2023.
In the latter half of 2023, he organised a Yuva Sangharsh Yatra from Pune to Nagpur with the aim of speaking about youths and their issues.
The latest issue he picked up to corner the government was Rapido sponsoring Dahi Handi event, Pro-Govinda League, organised by the son of Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik. Just weeks ago, the minister had publicly called out the app-based bike taxi aggregator for alleged illegal operations.
During the winter session, Rohit Pawar was among the first few people who picked up the murder case of the Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, in Beed district.
It led to the arrest of former Parli municipal council chief Valmik Karad, who is believed to be the right hand man of former minister Dhananjay Munde. The issue snowballed into a political controversy, eventually leading to Munde’s resignation from the cabinet.
Rohit also raised the issue of how MoS Meghna Bordikar purportedly threatened to slap a village official at a programme in Parbhani.
“Devendra Fadnavis ji, what kind of ‘sajjan’ (decent) ministers have you found? Your cabinet’s image is damaged, and more importantly, the dignity of Maharashtra is being compromised. Please control them,” he wrote on X while sharing a purported video of the incident.
Meghna Bordikar responded with an explanation. “What I said was in the interest of the people. I was speaking in front of Zilla Parishad officials about one staff member who has not improved his work. If someone doesn’t listen, we must speak in a language and tone they understand,” the BJP leader said.
Rohit Pawar’s aggressive side was seen in a video of him coming out of the Azad Maidan police station. He had gone there along with NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad to meet an injured party worker following a clash in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan building between supporters of Awhad and BJP legislator Gopichand Padalkar.
After the clash, members of both groups were detained inside the Vidhan Bhavan and were eventually handed over to the police.
During the visit to the police station, Rohit Pawar was seen shouting at a sub-inspector in Marathi. “Keep your voice down, keep your voice down. If you raise your hand, I will teach you a lesson.”
An FIR has been registered against him for allegedly threatening the police personnel.
“All these incidents highlight how he is emerging as a leader of the party and being a youth face, this has now energised our cadre too,” said another functionary of the party.
Backed by senior Pawar
Rohit Pawar started his career as a member of the Pune Zilla Parishad in 2017. He became an MLA in 2019.
Backed by Sharad Pawar, Rohit seems to be walking the path his grand uncle did. Rohit is the president of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. Sharad Pawar too was president of the Mumbai Cricket Association and also became the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“He has won the trust of Sharad Pawar and has a good backing from his grandfather. And over the years, he has started proving himself. His style is different from Supriya tai or Pawar saheb. He has full support of the family,” said the second functionary quoted above.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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