Assembly polls: Sharad Pawar campaigns extensively for grandnephew in family turf Baramati

Pune: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar on Tuesday addressed back-to-back poll rallies in support of his grandnephew Yugendra Pawar, who is contesting against his uncle and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Baramati assembly seat.

Addressing a gathering at Shirsuphal in Baramati taluka of Pune district, the NCP (SP) chief said the contest for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat earlier this year was difficult as it was fought within the Pawar family. Now, after five months, people of the region will witness a similar situation, said the former Union minister, referring to the fight between NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar and NCP president Ajit Pawar in Baramati in the November 20 assembly polls.

According to political observers from Baramati, Sharad Pawar had never campaigned personally for either his nephew Ajit Pawar (when he was in undivided NCP) or daughter Supriya Sule except during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when the latter was in the fray The senior Pawar (83) held at least five public meetings/campaign rallies for Yugendra Pawar in Chaudharwadi, Shirsufal, Supa, Morgaon and Someshwar and pitched for new leadership in the pocket-borough of Baramati.

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In the Lok Sabha polls, Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra was pitted against Supriya Sule, the sitting MP from Baramati, making it a Pawar vs Pawar contest. The senior Pawar had held multiple election meetings and reached out to voters, seeking support for his daughter.

Sule eventually emerged victorious against sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar. “Pawar saheb never held meetings for Ajit dada or Supriyatai. He would typically address only the first and last day rallies in Baramati, as previous contests were largely one-sided,” said Chintamani Kshirsagar, a senior journalist from Baramati. However, this time the scenario is different as the NCP (SP)’s opponent is from the Pawar clan and he is none other than Ajit Pawar, a seven-term MLA, he said.

Kshirsagar added that even during his own elections, Pawar never heavily focused on campaigning.  “He used to give the responsibility of his polls to party functionaries in Baramati and used to go across the state for poll campaigns,” maintained the journalist.

The senior Pawar said from November 6 he will embark on poll campaign across the state along with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) MVA leaders. The NCP (SP) is part of the opposition bloc MVA. Subhash Dhole, a close associate of the senior Pawar, said since Tuesday morning, he has been attending meetings in rural as well as urban parts of Baramati.