Opinion remains divided in Baramati, the bastion of the Pawar family in the Pune district, in wake of the sudden developments involving the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
It's not wrong to say that politics and Pawars are synonymous as far as Baramati is concerned.
For over 55 years, the Pawar-family has controlled Baramati, the hustling-bustling town known for its agriculture and industries.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar (82), his daughter Supriya Sule (54) and nephew Ajit Pawar (63) had been representing the law-making bodies here since 1967 - which itself is a record of sorts.
Baramati is located nearly 100 kms from Pune and over 250 kms away from Mumbai.
“People of Baramati want Pawar Saheb, Ajit Dada and Supriya Tai under one umbrella…they are yet to come to terms of what had happened over the weekend,” a Pawar-family associate told DH over phone from Baramati on Monday. "While the large section of old timers are with Saheb, Dada is very popular among the young. The opinion as of now is divided, let's see what happens in the next few weeks," he said.
“Something was brewing up that everyone was aware of but it would reach this stage and so soon no one had assessed,” he said. “Pawar Saheb nurtured Baramati and transformed it but it is also true that Ajit Dada had taken the transformation story ahead while representing Maharashtra politics and Supriya Tai at the national level whose record as a Parliamentarian speaks for itself,” he said.
“When in 1999, NCP was founded after Pawar saheb was expelled by the Congress, within a few months it came to power in Maharashtra and ruled the state (with Congress) for 15 years which is unparalleled,” he added.
On being asked whether people got some signals, he said that from April there were murmurs and when Pawar resigned abruptly as NCP President on May 2(he took it back on May 5), people were very apprehensive.
"Baramati just gets 400 to 450 mm rainfall, but an aerial view will reveal its green. What the family has done no other political family has done in India. There are sugarcane fields, three sugar co-operatives, four private sugar factories, and the MIDC houses several big companies. The government hospital is among the best in India. In the last decade, it has emerged as an education hub and students from across the country come here to get basic education, study engineering, medical and or enrol in flying school. Be it textile, food processing or dairy everything is here,” he said.
Vidhan Sabha
- The Baramati Vidhan Sabha seat has been under the control of the Pawar family since 1967.
- Sharad Pawar won the seat six times - 1967, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1985 and 1990
- Ajit Pawar won the seat seven times - bye-elections in 1991 and then 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019
Lok Sabha
- The Baramati Lok Sabha seat has been under the control of the Pawar family since 1991.
- In 1991, Ajit Pawar won the seat followed by a bye-election that Sharad Pawar won.
- Thereafter, Sharad Pawar continued to win the seat in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004.
- After this, Supriya Sule won the seat in 2009, 2014 and 2019.