MUMBAI, Dec. 11 -- Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday flew to Delhi to attend an advance celebration of his uncle and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar's birthday, held at the latter's residence. Senior leaders and MPs from across the political spectrum were invited, and Ajit was accompanied by his colleague and NCP working president Praful Patel. The veteran leader will turn 85 on December 12. The development comes days after Ajit skipped the wedding of Yugendra Pawar, son of his elder brother Shrinivas Pawar, who contested the assembly elections against him. This was followed by Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule giving a miss to the wedding of Ajit's younger son, Jay, in Bahrain. When contacted, Anand Paranjpe, NCP spokesperson, said, "The dinner was hosted in honour of Pawar saheb and all leaders were invited. Hence, Ajit Dada and Praful bhai attended." The tension between the uncle-nephew duo, which persisted for months after Ajit split the NCP in 2023, has eased of late. After ignoring each other even whilst sharing a stage, the two have come around to talking terms and meeting on occasion. The thaw began after Ajit and his family met Pawar in Delhi last December to wish him on his birthday, and Ajit's attending the dinner in Delhi this year has reinforced the fact. On October 1, Ajit visited the Y B Chavan Centre, where he had an hour-long meeting with Pawar-according to him, it was about the Shivnagar Vidya Prasarak Mandal, an educational institution in Baramati. Earlier, on May 18, Pawar had telephoned Ajit and requested him to look into the issue of farmers affected by the proposed Purandar Airport. A day earlier, Ajit had showered praise on his political mentor for empowering women with 33 per cent reservation in local bodies back in 1993 as CM. In April, Pawar also attended the engagement ceremony of Ajit's younger son, Jay. Going a step ahead, both NCP factions have forged alliances for the local body elections at many places....