BARAMATI: Will the fate of the contest in the prized Baramati seat be decided by the word of an 84-year-old? There are many indications that it could be so.
"Though Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has done notable infrastructure and development work in Baramati, the real Daivat (deity) is the 84-year-old Sharad Pawar," says Amit Taware, a resident of Thopatewadi in the Baramati constituency. The elder Pawar's word is final, and whoever he supports here — be it Ajit Pawar or Yugendra Pawar — will get our vote, he adds.
Baramati has 3.8 lakh voters, with 1.95 lakh male voters and 1.85 lakh female voters. The voter list is dominated by the Maratha community, with 35% of total votes, followed by a 30% Dhangar vote, with the remaining 35% split among Muslim, Dalit, OBC, SC/ST, and others.
Several residents of Baramati echo Amit Taware's sentiments.
"We do respect Ajit Pawar, but he has done the wrong thing by joining hands with the BJP for power. Ajit Pawar should have shown courage like NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal and former home minister Anil Deshmukh; they were imprisoned for resisting and got out. Ajit dada should have gone to jail rather than surrendering before the BJP and its mighty power. We are not with him now," says another resident, Sambhaji Sonawane.
The Pawar family, like many families from villages in Baramati, is a joint family with up to three generations living together.
"Ajit Pawar broke the joint family by joining hands with the BJP for power. Power can come and go, but what about the family members who stand with you in difficult times? What has Sharad Pawar not given to Ajit?" asks Sonawane.
"The 84-year-old man tries to keep his family united, but Ajit Pawar deserted him for power. What message do the people of Baramati get from his actions? To break families?" he adds, noting that many elderly people have taken offense to Ajit Pawar's apparent ruthlessness.
Ajit Pawar has contested the Baramati seat in the state assembly election eight times.
In 2019, he won the state polls by a record margin of 1.62 lakh votes.
After splitting from Sharad Pawar, Sunetra Pawar stood for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat instead of Ajit; she lost by 1.5 lakh votes and by 48,000 votes in the state assembly segment.
Choosing to contest from Baramati this election, therefore, might be the toughest battle Ajit Pawar has faced over the course of his political career.
Another resident, 44-year-old Deepak Kate, noted that this election is a clash between two dadas in Baramati: the young and emerging Yugendra Pawar (junior dada), nephew of Ajit Pawar and son of Srinivas Pawar, going up against the established dada—Ajit Pawar.
"The only difference is that the junior dada has the blessing of senior Pawar (Sharad), and that will make the difference in this election. The reason is that the people of Baramati are emotionally connected with senior Pawar— a connection like a difficult-to-cut umbilical cord, and we have seen that in the Lok Sabha election," Kate says.
"Initially, no one used to come out for Supriya Sule's campaign, but senior Pawar slowly built the tempo and showed the people whom Baramati belongs to," he adds.
Srinivas Pawar, father of Yugendra Pawar, is focusing on micro-management and house-to-house campaigns.
"The people of Baramati are living under fear and threat. That will change on November 23. Life in Baramati is very expensive; people here have to shell out so much money on water and property taxes. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Baramati is a more costly place to live than Pune and other metro cities," says Srinivas Pawar.
"Poverty, land grabbing, and deteriorating law and order are the major issues. Therefore, the change is inevitable," he adds.
The people of Baramati were not very responsive to campaigns during the Lok Sabha election, but the situation is slowly changing, he notes.
"I will not blame Ajit dada, but people are surrounded by officials who are mostly corrupt and greedy — those who work for commission only. They never allow the common person to reach dada," says a local journalist on condition of anonymity.
"After Sunetra Pawar's defeat in the Lok Sabha election, dada began campaigning from village to village. Otherwise, he never showed up for campaigns until the last day. People still voted for him and made him MLA in all previous state polls. But it is difficult to say how things will go this time. The traditional last rally of Sharad Pawar is a key factor that will determine the political fate of Ajit dada," says the journalist.
Sharad Pawar has so far addressed six rallies in Morgaon, Someshwar, and Baramati, meeting with doctors, lawyers, and merchants. He continues to address and meet minority communities in groups.
"I am working for Ajit dada, but I am truly mesmerized by the way Sharad Pawar works at the age of 84. Brick by brick, he is breaking the support of Ajit Pawar and making inroads calmly without any hue and cry. But I am confident that the people of Baramati will stand with Ajit Pawar as the future is with him," says Nana Satav, who recently joined Ajit Pawar's camp.
Initially, after taking voluntary retirement from the State GST department, Satav joined the BJP. But after the Lok Sabha election, he began working with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
He says that the Rs 485-crore Janai-Shirsai irrigation canal project will be a game changer post this election if approved by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The canal will bring several acres of dry and non-irrigated land under irrigation in 40 villages.
"Over 50,000 voters reside in these villages in Baramati, and that will provide a big boost to Ajit Pawar. Besides, people will also compare whether Baramati should be given to Ajit Pawar, who was four times DCM, or the young boy who just started his political journey," says Kate.
"Because everyone wants development and progress, they may think that if a young person gets elected, the funds will dry up and Baramati's development will be halted. There is also speculation that even if Yugendra loses, senior Pawar will make him MLC. So, there is no loss for the Pawar family and Baramati as well," Kate points out.
Another key factor in this election is that Sharad Pawar's spouse, Pratibha, is actively engaged in campaigning this time. She usually maintains a distance from politics but not this time.
Ajit Pawar's campaign is primarily handled by his spouse, Sunetra Pawar, supported by his two sons and sisters.
Baramati has not seen such a fierce fight in the last 40 years. The last close election was in 1987, between Congress leader Sharad Pawar and Peasant and Workers Party candidate Shahji Kale. Sharad Pawar won that poll by only 15,000 votes.
"It was a very close election, and today in 2024, we are again seeing the likelihood of such a close election. We should not be surprised if the victory margin is unlike the last state polls, but it will likely range between 5,000 and 10,000 votes only. Anyone can win or lose. No result will be a big surprise," says a local journalist.
