Mumbai: In the high-stakes battle for the Pawar dynasty turf of Baramati, incumbent MP Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) is leading against her sister-in-law, Sunetra Pawar, wife of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
As of 10.30 am, Sule was leading by 5,770 votes, according to the early trends released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The contest for Baramati, which had until now been an assured seat of the undivided NCP, was a peculiar one this time with two factions of the NCP and two members of the Pawar family contesting against each other.
The NCP suffered a vertical split in July 2023 when Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle, NCP founder Sharad Pawar, with a majority of the party’s MLAs. Ajit Pawar joined the state’s ruling alliance of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
This Lok Sabha election was the first major electoral test for both factions after the split, and the battle for Baramati is especially significant as it would serve as the ultimate endorsement of which faction is the “real NCP.”
Under the undivided NCP, Sule has represented the Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament thrice, while Ajit Pawar has been MLA from Baramati since 1991.
In 1991, Baramati elected Ajit Pawar to the Lok Sabha, who resigned the same year to make way for his uncle Sharad Pawar to contest the by-poll.
Since then, barring two years between 1994 and 1996, the Pawar family has always represented Baramati in Parliament. The constituency comprises six assembly segments — Daund, Indapur, Baramati, Purandar, Bhor and Khadakwasla.
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Sule vs Sunetra Pawar
The Sule vs Sunetra Pawar battle divided not just the voters of Baramati, but also the first family of the NCP — the Pawars.
Ajit Pawar’s sibling Shrinivas Pawar, his wife Sharmila, and their son Yugendra Pawar sided with Sule and actively campaigned for her in Baramati. Similarly, Sharad Pawar’s other nephew Rajendra Pawar, his wife Sunanda Pawar, and their MLA son Rohit Pawar also campaigned for her.
The only members of the Pawar family who campaigned for Sunetra were her sons Parth and Jay Pawar.
While Sule’s campaign revolved around her work as MP for 15 years, it also had a heavy dose of sentiment and righteousness.
Campaigners of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction went to voters talking about how nephew Ajit Pawar, popularly known as Ajit dada, betrayed his uncle who has been almost like a patriarch to Baramati, and how the Mahayuti, of which Ajit Pawar is now a part, is out to politically wipe out Sharad Pawar.
On the other hand, the campaign of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP was about how the Baramati MLA has developed the town and its surrounding rural areas, ensured that it got its share of development funds, and gave opportunities to the party cadre to grow.
The campaign also talked about how under the undivided NCP there was little scope for younger leaders to grow as party founder Sharad Pawar refused to make way for their leadership.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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