The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday took a dig over the appointment of Bhaskar Jadhav as the new president of the Maharashtra unit of the Nationalist Congress Party, saying he had once given the party chief Sharad Pawar sleepless nights.
"When Jadhav (then a state minister) had spent excessively during the wedding of his son, Pawar had said he could not sleep. Now, after appointing Jadhav, we wish Pawar a good sleep," state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis quipped.
After the lavish wedding at Chiplun kicked up a controversy, as it took place in the middle of a severe drought in the state, Pawar had publicly expressed his disapproval.
"I could not sleep the whole night when I saw the visuals of the wedding on TV," he had said.
Jadhav, who was dropped from the ministry, was on Saturday made president of the state unit, while Member of Legislative Assembly Jitendra Awhad was made the working president.
BJP ally Shiv Sena said both Jadhav and Awhad had influence over limited areas.
"It is difficult to say that their appointments will have much impact. The party does not run on two persons," Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said.
"We would say it is old medicine in new bottle, as they have also included (former minister) Gulabrao Devkar in the party's core committee," Gorhe added.
