MUMBAI: The Baramati assembly constituency is set to witness a high-voltage political drama in the upcoming state elections, with a contest shaping up between two members of the Pawar family.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP on Thursday announced the candidature of Yogendra Pawar from Baramati, who will go head-to-head against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his uncle, in what is being described as a Pawar versus Pawar battle.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Baramati saw a similar contest in the parliamentary seat, where NCP’s Supriya Sule faced off against Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Ajit Pawar.
Supriya Sule won by a margin of 1.40 lakh votes. Notably, Sunetra Pawar trailed by over 40,000 votes in the Baramati assembly segment, where Ajit Pawar has been the MLA for the past seven terms.
In the aftermath of the Lok Sabha results, Ajit Pawar expressed his dissatisfaction with the voters of Baramati, hinting that he might consider contesting from a different constituency. He remarked that despite the significant development work and funds he had brought to Baramati, the voters had still rejected his spouse in the Lok Sabha elections.
The speculation over Ajit Pawar’s candidacy has been rife, with many questioning whether he will contest from Baramati again or seek a new seat. However, NCP has already confirmed his candidature from Baramati.
Yogendra Pawar, the son of Srinivas Pawar (Ajit Pawar's brother), has emerged as the challenger in this intra-family political rivalry. Following the split within both the party and the family, Srinivas Pawar chose to support his uncle Sharad Pawar and cousin Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha elections, rather than backing his brother Ajit Pawar. Yogendra Pawar, along with his mother, campaigned for Supriya Sule in Baramati during the Lok Sabha polls.
After the elections, Yogendra Pawar had hinted that he would be willing to contest the assembly elections if the party and the people of Baramati wished him to do so.
On Thursday, the NCP faction loyal to Sharad Pawar officially announced his candidature from Baramati, setting the stage for a closely-watched contest against Ajit Pawar.