Mumbai: Ajit Pawar has won a convincing victory in the second chapter of a Pawar versus Pawar battle in the family bastion of Baramati, defeating his nephew and political debutant Yugendra by a margin of 1,00,899 votes.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar contested on the ‘clock’ symbol alloted to his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), while Yugendra was the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate. The NCP split in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar rebelled against uncle Sharad Pawar, the NCP founder, taking a majority of the party’s MLAs with him.
He then joined the ruling alliance of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming to be the real NCP. Ajit Pawar won this battle when the EC and Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar recognised his faction as the real NCP.
Baramati is seen as the crown jewel in the contest between the two NCPs. Ajit Pawar has already lost it once when his wife, Sunetra, lost this year’s Lok Sabha election to Sharad Pawar’s daughter, incumbent MP Supriya Sule. A defeat in the assembly election in Baramati for Ajit would have significantly reduced his clout after a nearly four-decade-long political career in which he has never lost a single election.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP campaigned largely on the work he has done in the constituency as its MLA since 1991, and the funds he secured for the constituency’s development.
Yugendra Pawar, the son of Ajit Pawar’s sibling Shrinivas Pawar, campaigned on his grand-uncle Sharad Pawar’s contributions to the people of Baramati. He emphasised Sharad Pawar’s role in boosting the region’s agricultural and dairy-related economy, starting premier institutions like Vidya Pratishthan and attracting major industries to the belt.
He had also said that a vote for his uncle, Ajit Pawar, would indirectly be a vote for the BJP’s ideology. Yugendra contended that development during his uncle’s tenure was superficial, while real issues such as water availability and the condition of roads in the constituency’s interiors were not addressed.
Pawar versus Pawar
The political tussle between Sharad Pawar and nephew Ajit Pawar after the NCP’s split spilled over into the family for the first time during the Lok Sabha elections this year when Ajit Pawar decided to pit his wife against Supriya Sule.
Most of Sharad Pawar’s immediate family rallied around him in the fight, including his grandnephew, Rohit Pawar, and Rohit’s parents, Rajendra and Sunanda Pawar.
Yugendra was the first in his family to pick Sharad Pawar’s side, followed by his parents, Shrinivas and Sharmila Pawar, who also began campaigning for the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.
On Ajit Pawar’s side, the only Pawar family members campaigning for him were his two sons—Parth and Jay Pawar— and his wife Sunetra. In one of his addresses to his party workers, Ajit Pawar had also spoken about how his family had isolated him.
After the Lok Sabha elections, when there was some speculation about Sharad Pawar nominating Yugendra to take on Ajit Pawar, the deputy CM had in a few media interviews spoken about how it was a mistake to field his wife against his sister and make the political warfare a family battle.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
