Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Wardha rally address, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said leaders ought to desist from launching personal attacks on each other in politics.

“It was Mr. Modi who said I had held his hand during his [the Prime Minister’s] early days in Gujarat politics. Yet, at Wardha, which is 650-700 km from Baramati, the PM censured me and my family by commenting that there was a rift brewing within the Pawar clan. How was it possible for Mr. Modi to know what was going on in the Pawar family?” Mr. Pawar asked.

The NCP chief said all members of the Pawar clan were engaged in different vocations and that there was perfect amity between them and there was no question of any internecine quarrels in the family. “I will tell him [about my family] when I meet him again in Delhi. While my house is full, no one really knows who is in Mr. Modi’s family,” Mr. Pawar said.

Mr. Pawar held a number of meetings of NCP workers in Daund, which forms part of the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency — the bastion of the Pawar family.

“Elections will come and go, but what about the populace reeling under the onslaught of drought? It is the first task of the government to provide relief in the drought-hit areas,” he said.

The NCP chief said the BJP-Shiv Sena government has not fulfilled the promise of granting a quota to the Dhangar (shepherd) community made at the time of the 2014 general elections.

Mr. Pawar’s daughter, two-time MP, Supriya Sule is the Congress-NCP alliance’s candidate, pitted against Kanchan Kul of the BJP for Baramati.

However, Ms. Sule and the Pawar family face a stiff challenge this time from the BJP-Sena with the latter determined to break the decades-long stranglehold of the Pawar clan over Baramati.

According to sources, complicating matters is the fact that senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s attention is wholly directed towards his son, Parth Pawar’s, campaign for Maval.

“Ajit is focusing his energies to ensure Parth’s victory in Maval. A number of NCP corporators from the Pune civic body and other party leaders in Maval have been requisitioned for the younger Pawar’s campaign,” an election observer said.

He further said as a result, Mr. Pawar has been compelled to shoulder the burden of canvassing for Baramati, by holding extensive meetings with party workers.

Ms. Sule’s rival, Ms. Kul is the wife of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) legislator from Daund, Rahul Kul. The Mahadev Jankar-led RSP is allied with the BJP.