Pawar vs Pawar battle plays out in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency
This is not a …ght within the family, says incumbent MP and NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule; PM is in the minds of people, says Mahayuti candidate Sunetra Pawar
Baramati witnessed high-voltage electioneering on Thursday with the rival Pawar family contestants — Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar — ling their nomination papers for this prestigious Lok Sabha seat.
Ms. Sunetra Pawar, wife of Deputy CM and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, was accompanied by top leaders of the ruling Mahayuti coalition including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, senior NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Praful Patel and Republican Party of India (A) president Ramdas Athawale.
As a back up, Mr. Ajit Pawar led a dummy nomination accompanied by Vijay Shivtare a former Minister and senior leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Ms. Sule, the incumbent Baramati MP and Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA) candidate and daughter of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, was accompanied by her party colleague Dr. Amol Kolhe and Mr. Ajit’s nephew, Yugendra Pawar, who is supporting Mr. Sharad Pawar in this contest.
At a rally in Baramati later Ms. Pawar, in her rst election address, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the minds of the people.
“Be it infrastructure, building of roads or Chandrayaan,
Modiji has been instrumental in doing tremendous work,” she said.
Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis said the Baramati contest was not between Sunetra Pawar and Supriya Sule but between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
Mr. Shinde targeted Mr. Sharad Pawar by claiming that the people of Baramati had now decided to bring about a revolution. “We must send Sunetra vahini to Delhi this time,” he said.
Referring to the Baramati contest as a ght between a daughter and daughter-in-law, Mr. Fadnavis said nobody could stop Ms. Pawar from going to Delhi.
Meanwhile, Ms. rally stressed ‘simplicity’.
“I have said from the beginning this is not a ght within the Pawar family. I believe in my work, and guarantee that even my critics will vote for me,” she added.
Sule’s on