Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Baramati needs new generation MLA, says Sharad Pawar; Ajit seeks to blunt emotional pitch

Baramati: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday sought votes for his grandnephew in Baramati, saying it needs a young generation MLA, while Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar urged people not to fall prey to emotional appeals as rival camps held rallies on the last campaigning day.

However, unlike at his other poll rallies in the state, Sharad Pawar did not make any open appeal to the Baramati voters to defeat his estranged nephew Ajit Pawar, who snapped political ties with his uncle and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July 2023 along with MLAs supporting him.

At his state-wide rallies for the November 20 assembly polls, the senior Pawar, whose party is a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), makes it a point to tell voters to defeat MLAs who sided with Ajit Pawar.

On the last day of campaigning, the rival NCP factions held simultaneous rallies in Baramati, the home turf of the powerful Pawar family in Pune district.

Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Yugendra (32), a young entrant in electoral politics, is taking on Ajit Pawar (65), a veteran of many a poll battle in the Baramati assembly seat, in what is arguably the most watched fight in the 2024 state polls.

Addressing the NCP (SP)'s election meeting, the 83-year-old former Union minister urged people to make his grandnephew victorious with a huge margin.

"In 1967, you people made me the MLA from Baramati. I went on to become a minister and then the chief minister. After that, Ajit dada was given an opportunity to serve you as a representative of the new generation. He worked here for 20 to 25 years. The party gave him opportunity.

"He was made deputy CM, not once, twice, but three times (in governments of Congress-undivided NCP). He also worked. I have no complains. But what to do ahead? First, it was my generation, later it was Ajit dada and now the next generation is of Yugendra Pawar," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

The NCP (SP) president described Yugendra Pawar, making his electoral debut, as a thoughtful and highly educated politician with a clean image.

Yugendra is the son of Ajit Pawar's brother Shriniwas.

Yugendra Pawar, after getting an opportunity to contest assembly polls, reached out to each and every village of Baramati taluka and tried to understand issues faced by the voters in the high-profile constituency, the NCP (SP) president told the gathering.

"Baramati needs a young generation, hardworking generation and that is why Yugendra's candidature was announced. I am sure you will make him victorious," said the senior Pawar, urging voters to support his grandnephew.

Ajit Pawar, who heads the ruling NCP, addressed a rally at a different venue almost at the same time, and asked voters not to fall prey to emotional appeals.

The deputy CM, who also holds the finance ministry, told the gathering development works started by him in Baramati needs to be taken forward.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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