India, Dec. 11 -- Social activist Anjali Damania on Wednesday alleged that deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had been eyeing the controversial, 40-acre land parcel in Mundhwa, near Koregaon Park in in Pune, since 2018.

As part of a plan to secure the land parcel, she alleged, NCP leader Nilesh Magar, then deputy mayor of Pune, had secured power of attorney (PoA) from the original owners of the land, to block any transaction pertaining to the plot as Pawar was not part of the ruling dispensation at the time.

It was no coincidence that the land deal was eventually registered in May this year, soon after Pawar, whose NCP is now part of the Mahayuti alliance government, was appointed guardian minister of Pune, Damania claimed.

Magar has den...