Pawar will sto(o)p at nothing to ensure a Supriya win

With his prestige and political career at stake, Sharad Pawar is setting aside his ego and building bridges with his hitherto arch political enemies.

- S BALAKRISHNAN

For 50 years, there was bitter rivalry between the Pawar and Kakade families. The late Sambhajirao Kakade, head of the Kakade clan, had twice won the Lok Sabha elections from Baramati, despite stiff opposition from the Pawars.

Another member of the Kakade family, Mrinalini Kakade, had even unsuccessfully challenged the election of Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, on the grounds that the latter was a citizen of Singapore, where she had purchased properties.

Now, however, however, Sharad Pawar has decided to bury the hatchet and drove down to the Kakade household on Sunday after a hiatus of 55 years, to break 'bhakri' with his rivals.