Pawar mocks Pankaja fainting at Parli rally

Mumbai: NCP chief Sharad Pawar asked on Monday why BJP leader Pankaja Munde should get upset and faint during a rally merely because her estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde called her “Bahinabai” (sister).

“He did not know if Pankaja, the Maharashtra women and child welfare minister, fainted due to fear of losing to Dhananjay, NCP nominee from Parli,” Pawar said in a sarcastic vein.

The NCP chief was speaking to journalists after casting his vote in Mumbai’s Tardeo.

Pankaja fainted on stage while addressing a campaign rally at Parli in Beed district on Saturday.

BJP workers had claimed that she was upset because of some objectionable comments made by Dhananjay. However, BJP spokespersons stated that that fainting bout was the result of her hectic campaigning schedule.

Talking about the episode, Mr Pawar said during her 40-minute speech the BJP leader made several allegations against Dhananjay.

“But later she fainted...I saw her interview subsequently. In that she said she was referred to (by Dhananjay) as ‘Bahinabai’,” Mr Pawar said.

Bahinabai was a famous poet from Khandesh and her work is considered seminal. The word also means ‘sister’ in Marathi.

“I did not understand why one would be pained or faint when referred to as Bahinabai. Nothing happens to you while you give speech for 30-40 minutes and you faint at the end of it,” Mr Pawar said.