Pune (Maharashtra):

NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule on Sunday said that the BJP’s has conspired to field her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, against her in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat with an aim to finish the party chief Sharad Pawar.

In an exclusive interaction with ANI in Pune, Ms Sule said, “My fight is not against a person, but their mindset and policies. You have witnessed me in politics for the past 18 years; I have never made any personal comment on anyone.”

Ms Sule said Sunetra Pawar is the wife of her “elder brother and the elder sister-in-law is considered a mother.”

“It’s dirty politics by the BJP. Sunetra Pawar, being my elder brother’s wife, holds a special place in the family as the “vahini” (in Marathi) elder sister-in-law and she is a mother figure for me, but she has been given to contest against me just to create rift in the family, and the BJP is behind all this. It’s a conspiracy of the BJP, which is aimed at finishing off the name of Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar); they have nothing to do with the development etc of the constituency,” she added.

Meanwhile, after the announcement as the official candidate from the Grand Alliance for the Baramati seat, Sunetra Pawar said, “Today is a huge day for me. I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for showing faith one me.”

The Baramati seat in Pune district has become a key battleground in Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha election after candidates from both the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party were announced, turning it into a ‘Pawar versus Pawar’ contest.

The Baramati Lok Sabha constituency has been a stronghold of Sharad Pawar since the 1960s, Ajit Pawar has been a successful MLA from Baramati since 1991, with a significant victory in the 2019 elections and said to have had a major influence on vidhansabha seats of Indapur, Daund, Purandar, Bhor, and Khadakwasla, which comes under Baramati Lok Sabha.

Supriya Sule will be contesting this seat for the third time, while Sunetra Pawar will be making her political debut in this election.

Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

The state, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh. Known for its political diversity and significant electoral influence, Maharashtra plays a crucial role in shaping national politics.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 23 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena with 18 seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

After days of hectic discussions, the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, has made more headway in their seat-share talks.

The NDA partners have finalised the four seats from where Ajit Pawar will field its contestants, sources told NDTV. Mr Pawar is bargaining for more seats in the state, they added.

According to talks so far, Sharad Pawar’s nephew, the leader of the “real” NCP, will field candidates from Baramati, Raigarh, Shirur, and Parbhani, and the BJP will get 31 seats, while the Shiv Sena will contest 13.

Baramati is the Pawars bastion. For decades, the political family has fought from the seat and won. However, this year will see a contest between family members after a shock rebellion by Ajit Pawar split the party and its supporters. 

The sitting MP from Baramati and Ajit Pawar’s cousin, Supriya Sule, will likely face off with her sister-in-law and Mr Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar.

Ajit Pawar has fielded NCP’s Maharashtra president and sitting MP Sunil Tatkare to defend Raigarh against Anant Geete, who will likely be named to contest from this constituency by Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena. Mr Geete had earlier served as a Union Minister in PM Narendra Modi’s first term.

In Shirur, the NCP may field Pradeep Kand or Adhalrao Patil. Both leaders are not a part of the party. While Mr Patil, a former Shiv Sena MP, was appointed as the chief of the MHADA last month by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mr Kand is the chief of a district cooperative bank in Pune.

The NCP will likely field Rajesh Vitekar against Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav – Parbhani’s sitting MP and a leader from the Uddhav Thackeray camp. Mr Vitekar is the president of the Parbhani Zilla Parishad.

In the seat-sharing talks so far, 31 of the state’s 48 seats will be contested by the BJP, 13 by Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and four by Ajit Pawar’s NCP.