You have voted for me, but that doesn’t mean you own me, said Ajit Pawar. (FILE)

Pune:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said he did not request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a campaign rally in his Baramati constituency because the fight there is within the family.

Mr Pawar, the sitting MLA, is contesting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the candidate of the rival Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar.

The prime minister would be holding campaign rallies for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections starting Friday.

“Contest in Baramati is within the family,” Ajit told reporters here on Thursday when asked why the PM would not be holding a rally in his constituency.

The NCP led by Ajit Pawar is part of the ruling coalition along with the BJP and Shiv Sena.

Asked about NCP candidates also not seeking rallies of senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah in their constituencies, Mr Pawar said it could be because there is not much time left for campaigning, and also due to the limit on election expenses.

Earlier in the day, when asked what would be his margin of victory in Baramati, the NCP chief said he would be able to tell that after moving around the constituency and talking to people. “But I can say with one hundred per cent certainty that it would be a good lead,” he said.

In the 2019 state elections, Ajit Pawar had won by a record 1.65 lakh votes, defeating BJP’s Gopichand Kundlik Padalkar. 

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

Baramati:

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar turned the heat on his estranged nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Tuesday, virtually accusing him of breaking the family for his political ambitions.

Campaigning for his grandnephew and NCP (SP) nominee from the Baramati assembly segment, Yugendra Pawar, the Pawar senior mimicked Ajit, who a day earlier became emotional over Yugendra’s candidature at a rally.

Sharad Pawar’s action of pretending to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief in the middle of the speech evoked a peal of laughter from the audience.

The elections to 288 seats in Maharashtra are scheduled for November 20. Votes will be counted three days later.

Addressing a rally on Monday, Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar alleged that “seniors” should have ensured that a family rift is avoided, referencing to Yugendra’s candidature.

“My parents and brothers never taught me the sin to break the house (family),” Sharad Pawar said while addressing a rally at Kanheri town near Baramati.

“People tasked me with leading Maharashtra a long time ago. I am now a mentor and have entrusted the party affairs to the new generation,” he said.

Underscoring the uncertainties of politics, the former Union minister said one should not leave his colleagues for the sake of securing power for oneself.

“Unfortunately, when we (NCP) were not in power, some of our colleagues suddenly woke up at dawn and took oath. That government didn’t last for even for four days,” Pawar said.

Notably, Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister when he was a member of the opposition NCP (undivided) with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as CM at Raj Bhavan amid a political tug-of-war over the formation of a government, post the 2019 assembly elections.

“He (Ajit) went to the other side to secure the deputy chief minister’s post despite having served as Deputy CM four times. You got the position most of the time. If you fail to get the position only once, will you break the house (family)?” Sharad Pawar asked.

Now it is being said that I broke the family. It is a funny thing to hear, he added.

The veteran politician underlined that he never created a rift in the Pawar clan and everyone listened to him as the family head.

“I never did anything by going against anyone and will never do so. Going forward, regardless of anyone taking any stand, I will not go on the wrong track. I will ensure that my family will remain united,” Sharad Pawar added.

Targeting Ajit, the Pawar senior referred to the former’s speech at a rally.

“It was said that I created a rift in the family. The sin of breaking the family was never taught by my parents and brothers. All my brothers, including Anantrao Pawar (father of Ajit Pawar), lived with me,” he added.

Sharad Pawar recalled how he concentrated on politics in Maharashtra and at the national level, while domestic issues and farming were taken care of by his family members.

“I could concentrate on my job because of the blessings of my brothers. I won’t discriminate against their children,” he added.

He highlighted the “change of language” used by Ajit Pawar from the campaigning for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat to the latest emotive pitch.

Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar lost her maiden electoral contest from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency to her sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule.

“During Lok Sabha polls, people were told (by Ajit) not to fall prey to emotion. People were told that Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) would shed tears and seek votes (for his daughter Supriya Sule),” Sharad Pawar said.

“You might have seen in yesterday’s speech…..”, he said even as he took out a handkerchief pretending to wipe tears, mimicking Ajit.

Pawar claimed he offered positions as ministers to several leaders but didn’t entrust Supriya Sule with a single position.

The Pawar senior also said he was dragged to the court as the name and symbol of the NCP founded by him were allotted to the other faction.

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

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.