Maharashtra: BJP attempts to challenge Pawar politics

For over five decades, the Pawar family had been dominating the politics of Baramati in Pune district of Maharashtra.

It's not wrong to say, politics means Pawars and Pawars means politics, as far as Baramati is concerned.

Having been unsuccessful in the 2014 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls, the BJP is yet again trying to challenge the political supremacy of NCP founder-president Sharad Pawar, popularly referred to as the Maratha strongman.

Considering that Baramati is the home turf of the 79-year-old Pawar, dislodging the numero uno political family of Maharashtra is not an easy task.

The BJP has pitted Gopichand Padalkar, a leader of the Dhangar community, against Pawar's nephew and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

In fact, Padalkar, a Dhangar leader, is not from Baramati or Pune and is being considered as an "outsider". Before BJP made him the candidate, Padalkar was a top functionary of Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

Recently, the uncle-nephew duo was booked by the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police and Enforcement Directorate in connection of alleged Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam - forcing the junior Pawar (60) to resign his MLA seat and breaking down publicly.

As the campaign reaches its crescendo, the attacks from BJP and Shiv Sena on the Pawar family is intensifying.

"Let me be clear, we don't harbour any revenge approach," says chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. On the other hand, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray says that they will not allow the duo to be at ease.

In Baramati, Ajit's wife Sunetra is handling the campaign as the NCP leader tours across the state.

"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...that's why they remain undefeated for 52 years since 1967, a record in India," a close aide of the Pawar family told DH.

"There are sugarcane fields, three sugar co-operatives, four private sugar factories, the MIDC house 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 across the country come here, from basic education to engineering, medical and a flying school," he said. Be it textile, food processing, dairy everything is here.

A travel agent from Western Maharashtra's Baramati town said that more than 25,000 travel abroad annually to a tourist destination. "This reflects the economy of the town," he added.

The Half Century

* The Baramati Vidhan Sabha seat is under the control of Pawar family since 1967.
* Sharad Pawar won the seat six times - 1967, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1985 and 1990
* Ajit Pawar won the seat six times - bye-elections in 1991 and then 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014

* The Baramati Lok Sabha seat has been under the control of 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.