Sharad and Ajit Pawar.
Credit: PTI Photos
Mumbai: The bastion of the Pawar family - Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra - seems to be heading for a battle royale amid the split in the 25-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
For over 55 years, the Pawar family has controlled Baramati, the hustling-bustling town known for its agriculture, cooperatives, industries, and the social sector.
Pawar family patriarch and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar (82), and his family have represented Baramati for over half a century.
The focus is on the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, which is now represented by Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule (54), the Working President of the NCP.
However, there are chances that Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the National President of NCP’s rebel group, may contest the seat; however, there has not been any official announcement so far. Ajit Pawar (64) is the nephew of Sharad Pawar.
Speaking at the party’s conclave at Karjat in Raigad district last week, Ajit Pawar said that his party would contest four seats --- Baramati, Shirur, Satara, and Raigad – as part of the ruling BJP-led Maha Yuti in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
On her part, Supriya Sule, reacting to it, said: “I am an Indian and a Maharashtrian who has full faith in the democratic system. That being the case, any political party has the right to decide from which constituency it would put up a candidate.”
Now banners have emerged between Mantralaya, the state secretariat, and the NCP office, describing Sunetra Pawar as a future MP. She too hails from a political family - Sunetra Pawar’s brother is Dr. Padmasinh Patil, a former Maharashtra minister.
In the 2019 polls, Supriya Sule trounced BJP candidate Kanchan Kul - the wife of MLA Rahul Kul - by a margin of 1,57,000 votes.
Sharad Pawar is a six-term Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, Supriya Sule is a three-term MP from Baramati. Ajit Pawar, a seven-term MLA from Baramati, has previously represented the Baramati Lok Sabha seat for one term.
Asked about the banners, an aide of Ajit Pawar said that no final decision has been made on the candidates; however, party workers have a feeling that Sunetra Pawar must contest the seat.