Sanjay Raut compares Ajit Pawar to a woodpecker, make a hole in Shinde's chair

Raut made the analogy in his print column amid a controversy over a meeting between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar at an industrialist's residence in Pune.

Raut clarified that as far as he knows, the meeting between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar was not political. Both Pawar are holding posts in various non-political organisations in Maharashtra and the meeting revolved around the functioning of these organisations, he said.

Depicting Balasaheb Thackeray from an old cartoon that depicted Sharad Pawar as a woodpecker capable of creating problems, Raut symbolically hinted that Ajit Pawar played that role. He suggested that Ajit Pawar's activities within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) could be used by Devendra Fadnavis to destabilise Eknath Shinde's position.

Raut also mentioned that there is a delegation expressing concern over the appointment of Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, which considers it a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. Raut indicated that Shinde has emphasised his intention to continue as chief minister even after the 2024 state assembly elections, raising questions as to why Ajit Pawar's participation would be necessary.

Giving information about the meeting between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, Raut said that Sharad Pawar brought Ajit Pawar into politics and this meeting focused on the future of educational and agricultural institutions associated with the Pawar family. He emphasised that though there may be confusion due to the prevailing political dynamics, the meeting was mainly about the future of these institutions.