Ajit Pawar on Wednesday unmasked himself, dropping the veneer of unquestionable reverence for his uncle Sharad Pawar and taunting him in public with the question: “You have turned 82, 83... won't you ever stop?”

The façade of family unity lay in tatters as the political war turned personal with Ajit asking his “guru” to retire and hand over the party to him. Although he said he sought his uncle’s blessings, he acted ruthlessly, telling the Election Commission that Sharad Pawar was not the president of the NCP.

Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule confronted her cousin for the age taunt, but the veteran himself dealt with the political questions, asking the traitors to brace for the consequences of their action.

Pawar betrayed no signs of nervousness despite the presence of many more MLAs at Ajit’s meeting — 29, as against 17 at his own — demonstrating his will to fight this battle in the twilight of his career. Ajit, who has sent his legislators to a hotel, needs at least 36 MLAs for his group to escape the anti-defection law.

Sule warned Ajit against insulting her father, declaring: “Say whatever you want. Disrespect us. But if you say something about my father, that won’t be tolerated.” Before this, Sule had refused to attack Ajit even after his revolt, saying he would always remain her elder brother.

On Wednesday, she recalled the struggle of women like Ahilya Bai Holkar,who defended the Malwastate against invaders by leading her army herselfafter the demise of her husband and father-in-law, signalling her determination to take on her wily and powerful cousin.

Sule pointed to Ratan Tata who is 85, Cyrus Poonawala who is 82 and Amitabh Bachchan who is 80 to counter the age barb. She said: “Farooq Abdullah is 85. He asked me what’s happening in NCP. When I explained to him, he said, battle it out. I am older than your father and still fighting. Ask him to take up the challenge.”

(Tata is the chairman emeritus of the Tata Sons. He does not hold any executive position in the group. However, he is also the chairman of Tata Trusts, which holds a majority stake in Tata Sons, the main promoter company of the salt-to-software behemoth. Poonawala is the chairman of the Poonawala Group, which includes Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally.)

Sule, the NCP’s working president, spelt out the nature of the fight to demolish her cousin’s position, which is driven by personal ambition and possibly the desire to escape prosecution in corruption cases.

“It is not about one person. It is about saving the country from the BJP’s ideology. They called the Nationalist Congress Party the ‘Naturally Corrupt Party’.... Modi said na khaunga, na khane dunga. But when he felt the need, he gobbled up the ‘Naturally Corrupt Party’. I say today — the BJP is the most corrupt party in the country. Someone told me ‘NCP ka ICE ho gaya’ — ICE stands for income tax, CBI and ED.”

The battle now, in a redux of the Shiv Sena episode, is for the party and the symbol. Pawar said: “If someone is claiming that they will take the symbol, let me be clear that we will not allow it. However, I must tell you that I have fought on many symbols. Until you are in the hearts of people, symbols don’t matter. Have you seen posters and banners put up by those people (Ajit and others)? My photo is the largest. That is because they know that they have nothing else to bank upon.”

Pawar has already written to the Election Commission that the nine defectors who took oath as ministers have nothing to do with the NCP and have been expelled. He asked the EC, which has registered a dispute case, to hear his side before deciding on the party and the symbol. The Ajit group has also written to the EC, claiming that the party belonged to them and that Pawar’s decisions were invalid.

Pawar has now decided to tour the state to explain the betrayal to the people. Taking a vow not to work ever with the BJP, Pawar said: “The Hindutva of the Shiv Sena is of bringing all castes together, while that of the BJP is divisive, manuvadi and poisonous. The state recently faced communal riots. The one who plays divisive politics cannot be a patriot and we cannot take the position to join them.”

This was his response to Ajit’s question as to why the NCP should not join hands with the BJP if it could align with the Shiv Sena.

Ajit said he had always obeyed his uncle but did not get his support at critical junctures. “You portrayed me as a villain in front of everyone. I still have deep respect for you.... But you tell me, IAS officers retire at 60... even in politics — BJP leaders retire at 75. You can see the example of L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.... That allows the new generation to rise.... You give us your blessings. You have crossed 82, 83, won’t you ever stop? When will you stop? Give us your blessings and we will pray that you live a long life.”