Baramati: Yes, it is the fight between uncle and nephew that holds Maharashtra in its thrall: but the political draw is not between Uncle Ajit and nephew Yugendra Pawar; rather, it is the sparring between Sharad Pawar and nephew Ajit.
The Baramati assembly seat is proving to be a tough nut to crack for Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who has taken on nephew Yugendra Pawar, the candidate of the NCP (SCP) party. On one side are Ajit Pawar, his wife, and sons, while on the other side is the entire Pawar clan, led by NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, his daughter, the Bararnali MP Supriya Sule and the rest of the extended Pawar family, including grandsons Rohit and Yogendra Pawar.
A visit to Ground Zero—Baramati—where the ‘Pawar versus Pawar war” is playing out, reveals that the odds may be stacked in favour of the senior Pawar. Diwali is always the most important public event for the Pawars. For decades, the entire clan has gathered at Sharad Pawar’s sprawling family residence in Govind Baug, Baramati, on Padwa day. Thousands of people come to greet Sharad Pawar and his family. This year, for the second time in a row, Ajit Pawar chose to absent himself from the event and instead, held his own gathering at Katewadi, Sharad Pawar’s native place.
Uncle & Nephew Hold Separate Diwali Events
On the eve of the all-important assembly polls, the uncle and nephew held their separate Diwali events and if one were to go by the crowds that had gathered, those drawn by the nephew were no patch on the numbers drawn by the uncle. There was such a rush at Govind Baug, that barricades were put up to control the crowds and people waited for hours to get a glimpse of the NCP patriarch.
“We have come from Solapur, our entire family is here. ‘We feel it is always auspicious to meet Saaheb on Padwa day. ‘We are here not because of this being an election year. We have come every year for the past 13 years,” said Kishan Jagtap, a sugarcane farmer.
A similar sentiment was echoed by the rest of the throng. “This time, Diwali has brought great joy. The power of Indapur and Baramati are together. This event is very significant. If you take a look at this, you can guess what the election results are going to be in Baramati, as well as Indapur” said Harshavardhan Patil, three-time MLA and former cabinet minister of Maharashtra.
Political Situation In Baramati
Harshavardhan left the BJP and joined Sharad Pawar’s NCP just a few weeks ago and will be contesting from the adjoining Indapur constituency in the polls happening on November 20. If one takes a look at the political situation in Baramati and Indapur, one realizes after speaking to voters that Sharad Pawar is putting in tremendous efforts to ensure his candidate Yugendra Pawar wins this fight.
He is going out of the way to meet old friends, colleagues, and even some foes, to convince them to extend support. Outwardly, the contest seems like it is between Ajit and Yugendra but actually, it is between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar.
The Ajit Pawar camp is palpably nervous and finding it difficult to reach out to the voters, as, fresh on the back of the Lok Sabha results, there is heightened confidence among MP Supriya Sule’s activists and Yugendra’s campaign team. Obviously, the result is most likely to be a close call, considering all the odds, but Ajit Pawar is concerned about the spirit among voters, which could perhaps be viewed as anti-establishment’.
Sharad Pawar’s daughter won the Lok Sabha contest in June 2024, with a lead of about 48,000 votes from the Baramati assembly segment alone. Supporters of Sharad Pawar claim this margin will be even higher in the assembly contest for Baramati, as many other forces, such as Harshavardhan Patil from the adjacent Indapur and his supporters, will now be voting for Sharad Pawar’s candidate Yugendra Pawar.
