Family feud: In Baramati, it’s Pawar vs Pawar this time

Animesh Singh

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New Delhi, March 21

Baramati, the political bastion of the Pawar clan for over 50 years, is set to witness one of its toughest electoral battles, one that is filled with all the ingredients of a Bollywood family drama like hatred, ambition, power, traditions, and loyalty.

Supriya, Ajit’s wife pitted against each other

Voters in the western Maharashtra constituency have always showed faith in Sharad Pawar and his family for the past over 50 years. However, schisms within the family have turned the table this time as Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle Sharad and joined the Eknath Shine-led government in the state. Supriya Sule, a three-time MP from here, will face Ajit’s wife, Sunetra, who is BJP-led Mahayuti candidate this time from here

Having broken away from his family and forming his own faction out of his uncle Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Ajit Pawar is likely to field his wife Sunetra from Baramati against his cousin and three-time sitting MP Supriya Sule. While this widely expected move is likely to make the poll battle quite challenging for Sule, who is Sharad Pawar’s only child, even Ajit Pawar is not likely to have smooth sailing, what with his own elder brother Shrinivas Pawar having chided him for breaking ranks with the family and going with the BJP-led Mahayuti.

While Sunetra Pawar’s candidature as the Mahayuti’s candidate against Sule is yet to be formally announced, Sharad Pawar has been busy attending various public meetings and personally campaigning in and around Baramati with the aim of garnering support for his daughter.

He has been meeting representatives of various cooperatives, educational institutions, and even the legal fraternity to strengthen the political base for Sule. At the same time, not everything seems to be okay at Ajit Pawar’s front, as his elder brother Shrinivas Pawar, during a meeting on March 17 at the ancestral village of the Pawar clan, Katewadi, criticised the deputy chief minister for leaving Sharad Pawar’s side and aligning with the BJP-led Mahayuti.

With differences within Ajit Pawar’s family and Sharad Pawar strengthening the electoral firewalls for Supriya Sule to secure the Baramati bastion for her for the fourth time, it will be interesting to see how the voters of western Maharashtra town vote on May 7.