Mumbai:

In Maharashtra’s Baramati, a historic showdown awaits as the splintered National Congress Party (NCP) gears up for a unique ‘Pawar vs Pawar’ contest in Supriya Sule, daughter of the party’s patriarch Sharad Pawar, going up against Sunetra Pawar, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Baramati, in Pune district, has evolved over the years from facing devastating famines into a thriving hub of agriculture, industry, and commerce. Decades of Pawar family dominance have shaped the political narrative of this region. The Pawar family’s influence has been integral to this transformation, with Sharad Pawar’s political career tracing back to the 1960s when he first won in this constituency.

Schism In The Family

The emergence of two factions within the NCP, led by Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar, has set the stage for a dramatic electoral showdown. The NCP’s founding faction has nominated Supriya Sule, 54, while Sunetra Pawar, 60 and Ms Sule’s sister-in-law, has entered the fray as the candidate representing the rival faction.

On July 2 last year, Ajit Pawar, accompanied by eight NCP MLAs, aligned with the Eknath Shinde administration, prompting a fracture within the NCP party ranks. The division within the NCP has left voters and party workers with a choice between two Pawars.

“It will be a very tough choice for voters and party workers to choose between two Pawars. It is a contest they would never have imagined before July 2 last year,” said Madan Devkate, a local leader, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Since the 1960s, the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, encompassing Baramati, Indapur, Daund, Purandar, Bhor, and Khadakwasla assembly seats, has served as Sharad Pawar’s stronghold.

Ajit Pawar has represented Baramati as an MLA since 1991, and had registered a resounding victory in 2019 by securing an astonishing 83 per cent of the vote share.

Supriya vs Sunetra

The Baramati Lok Sabha constituency consists of six assembly segments: Baramati town, Indapur, Daund, Purandar, Bhor, and Khadakwasla.

Within these segments, the Congress holds sway over Bhor and Purandar, while Baramati and Indapur have historically favoured the NCP (prior to its division). The BJP holds influence in Daund and Khadakwasala.

In the 2019 elections, Supriya Sule clinched her third consecutive win in the Baramati constituency under the NCP banner.

NCP (SP) – the Sharad Pawar faction, a member of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), along with Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, will vie for 10 seats in Maharashtra, a state with 48 Lok Sabha seats. Baramati’s polls are scheduled for the third phase on May 7.

For Sule, aged 54, this marks her debut in a Lok Sabha election where the NCP’s support base will be divided between followers of her father and her cousin. While Sule relies on the allegiance of the Pawar Clan’s supporters and her track record as a Lok Sabha representative, Ajit Pawar can garner additional backing from Shiv Sena cadres under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s leadership, as well as the BJP.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Kanchan Kul, wife of Daund MLA Rahul Kul, suffered defeat to Ms Sule by a margin of over 1.55 lakh votes.

Ms Sule’s victory margin in Baramati during her debut Lok Sabha contest in 2009 was 3,36,831 against BJP nominee Kanta Nalawade. This margin decreased to 69,719 in 2014 when Rashtriya Samaj Paksha leader Mahadev Jankar contested against her. In 2019, Ms Sule’s vote tally surged to 6,86,714 with a vote share of 52.63%, securing victory by over 1.55 lakh votes.

Sunetra Pawar is the second member of Ajit Pawar’s family to contest Lok Sabha elections. In 2019, Ajit’s son Parth contested from the Maval seat in Pune district but was defeated by Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne.

Sunetra Pawar hails from a politically active family in Marathwada. She is the sister of Padamsinh Patil, a former minister who initially belonged to the Congress but later joined Sharad Pawar’s NCP in 1999.

New Delhi:

The current trend of defection in political parties that end up with the defecting faction being recognised as the “real” party, was slammed by the Supreme Court today, which called it a “mockery of voters”.

Hearing a petition of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, the court made it clear the situation bypasses the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which was put in place to bar defections and the subsequent political instability.

The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) had gone to court to challenge the award of party name and symbol to the Ajit Pawar faction by the Election Commission.

The poll body’s decision was in line with its earlier order that awarded the party name and symbol to the rebel faction of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, who subsequently became the Maharashtra Chief Minister.

“When the Election Commission is recognising a faction only on basis of legislative strength and not organisational strength, is it not recognizing a split, which is no longer approved under the tenth schedule,” said Justice J Vishwanathan.

“That way, you can engineer defections and claim the party symbol. Will it not be mockery of the voter?” the judge added.

Mumbai:

Finalising seat-sharing in Maharashtra, which sends the second-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, has proven to be tricky for the National Democratic Alliance, with all three key partners – the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP – pushing for a higher number of seats than the others are willing to concede. With BJP’s chief troubleshooter and Union Home Minister Amit Shah holding a late-night meeting on Tuesday with leaders of the other parties, sources said a breakthrough is expected soon.

Party sources said the meeting started around 10.15 pm and Mr Shah held a discussion with Deputy Chief Minister Pawar in the presence of BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the first 30 minutes, after which the two leaders left. The next 50 minutes saw talks between the Home Minister and Chief Minister Shinde. 

Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP wants 30 to be able to achieve its twin targets of winning 370 seats nationally and taking the NDA to the 400 mark. Sources said the party is willing to leave 12 seats from the Shiv Sena and six for the NCP, a prospect the other partners of the Mahayuti – as the alliance is known in Maharashtra –  are not happy with. 

Pointing out that the Sena symbol and name are with him, Chief Minister Shinde, sources said, has been pushing to be allocated 23 seats, the same number that the undivided Shiv Sena had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls – before the split in 2022. Failing that, Mr Shinde and his party are reportedly ready to settle for 18 seats, which the Shiv Sena had won in the last Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP’s division of constituencies with the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had caused heartburn on both sides even in 2019. The national party had contested 25 seats and won 23 while the Sena had contested 23 and won 18. The BJP camp, sources said, believes it is entitled to a larger share than last time given PM Narendra Modi’s popularity and the fact that it is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly. 

Complicating matters, however, is the entry of Ajit Pawar’s NCP, which joined the government last year and is pushing for 10 Lok Sabha seats. The then Sharad Pawar-led united NCP had only won four in 2019.

Contentious Seats

Sources said while a consensus is emerging on most other seats, 10 are proving to be a bone of contention. These are Kalyan, South Mumbai, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Shirur, Amravati, Sambhajinagar Nagar, Hingoli, Nashik, Ramtek and Maval

In Kalyan, Chief Minister Shinde’s son, Shrikant Shinde is the sitting MP, but the local unit of BJP wants to contest from the constituency. The BJP claims Kalyan is a traditional seat of the party which it had given to Shiv Sena in 2019 under pressure from Uddhav Thackeray. Union Minister Anurag Thakur had also conducted a review of the constituency and apprised the central leadership.

Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is the sitting MP from the South Mumbai constituency and the Shinde faction is keen to contest on it because it is traditionally a Sena seat. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar from the BJP has, however, also shown interest.

In Pune district’s Maval, Shrirang Barne from the Shinde Sena is the sitting MP.  But Ajit Pawar is keen on this seat as his son, Parth Pawar, had lost to Mr Barne in 2019.

Ratnagiri-Sindhadurg in the Konkan region is a Shiv Sena seat but Narayan Rane claimed it for the BJP last week in a post on X. Strongly opposing this, Ramdas Kadam of the Shinde Sena had asked whether the BJP wanted to eliminate every party and contest the Lok Sabha election alone. 

Shirur in Pune district has proven to be another point of friction. Amol Kolhe from the NCP (Sharadchanrd Pawar) is the sitting MP and the seat is now being claimed by the Ajit Pawar faction. The intent to beat Mr Kolhe has been announced by Mr Pawar himself, but former MP Shivaji Adhalrao Patil from Mr Shinde’s Shiv Sena is also keen on throwing his hat in the ring. 

Navneet Rana is the independent MP from Vidarbha’s Amravati and the BJP has offered the constituency to her to contest on its ticket. The Shinde Sena’s Anandrao Adsul, a former MP, has also claimed the seat. 

Sambhaji Nagar in Aurangabad is the lone seat won by the AIMIM in Maharashtra and Imtiaz Jaleel is the sitting MP. Though the constituency has been traditionally fought by the Shiv Sena, which plans to field Minister Sandeepan Bhumre, the BJP wants it for Union Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad.

A seat which is being eyed by all three members of the Mahayuti is Nashik. Hemant Godse from the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena is the sitting MP, but the NCP is keen on fielding someone from Minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s family and the BJP has also staked claim. 

In Aurangabad’s Hingoli, Sena’s Hemant Patil is the sitting MP and had offered to resign during the Maratha reservation protest. The BJP is also, however, interested in fielding its candidate.

Krupal Tumane of the Sena is the sitting MP from Ramtek in Nagpur seat but the local BJP cadre want the constituency for the party. They are, however, willing to settle for Mr Tumane fighting on a BJP ticket, sources said. 

Pune:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has resigned as a director of the Pune District Central Cooperative (PDCC) Bank, said a statement released by the bank on Tuesday.

Mr Pawar decided to step down as a director citing increase in the workload after becoming deputy chief minister and increased responsibility in his party, said the bank’s chairman Dr Digambar Durgade.

The Nationalist Congress Party leader was a director of the bank since 1991, and under his leadership, it made remarkable progress and became the number one bank in the cooperative sector in the country, the bank said in the statement.

When Mr Pawar became a director, the bank’s turnover was Rs 558 crore and now it stands at Rs 20,714 crore, it said.

Ajit Pawar had split the NCP headed by Sharad Pawar in July this year when he joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state.

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

The FIR filed by the Delhi Police cites tax evasion cases being faced by companies such as Xiaomi and Vivo in India. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

FIR links NewsClick case to legal aid for Chinese companies

The Delhi police have levelled a wide range of charges in their First Information Report (FIR) against NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, and activist Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder of Newsclick who is presently under house arrest as accused in a terror case. These three individuals have been named as the accused in the FIR.

Asian Games | Jyothi, Deotale claim hat-trick of gold as archers return with record nine medals

Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam claimed a hat-trick of gold medals, while Aditi Swami bagged a bronze as Indian archers signed off with a historic haul of nine medals at the Asian Games, on October 7. India’s previous best was at Incheon 2014 when the country had won three medals.

Canada moves diplomats out of India to Singapore, Malaysia: report

Canada has shifted a number of its diplomats stationed at missions in India outside of New Delhi to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, CTV news of Canada has reported citing sources. The report came a day after External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed that the two sides were in conversation to ensure “parity” in the presence of diplomatic staff in each other’s missions. 

Sikkim flash flood toll rises to 26, search on for missing

Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, both on foot and in boats, have recovered 26 bodies, including those of seven Army men from the slush and debris of the flash flood which swept through Sikkim’s Teesta river, officials said October 6.

Strictly followed all aspects of Indian law, says NewsClick investor 

Worldwide Media Holdings (WMH), the investor in NewsClick, on Friday said it “strictly followed all aspects of Indian law” before investing in the news portal in 2018 and that false allegations continued to circulate despite all the facts WMH had given to the Indian authorities.

Congress workers protest against BJP’s depiction of Rahul Gandhi as Ravan

Congress workers took out spontaneous protests against the BJP for depicting former party chief Rahul Gandhi as “new age Ravan”, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said on Friday. In a post on X, Mr. Venugopal also shared photos of protests in State units such as West Bengal and Delhi, among others. 

Election Commission briefs observers ahead of Assembly polls in five states

Ahead of Assembly polls in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana, the Election Commission on Friday conducted a briefing session for around 1,180 observers who will monitor polls to ensure the process is free and fair. 

Sharad Pawar meets Kharge and Rahul, discusses road ahead for INDIA bloc

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi at Mr. Kharge’s official residence on October 6, and is learnt to have discussed the next course of action for the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

MGNREGS runs out of funds; Rural Development Ministry seeks supplementary budget 

Six months into the financial year, the flagship rural employment programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), has run out of funds and as per the statistics put out by the Ministry on its website is running a deficit of ₹6,146.93 crore. 

New Maldives President won’t be anti-India or pro-China: Mohamed Nasheed

The new Maldives President-elect’s transition team hopes to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the swearing-in ceremony of Mohamed Muizzu in Male next month, says Maldives speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed. In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Nasheed — who has broken away from outgoing President Ibu Solih and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to form his own party, which could join the incoming government — said that he would also send an invitation to Mr. Modi for the ceremony expected to be held on November 17.  

Change in Iran ‘irreversible’, says 2023 Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi

Rights campaigner and 2023 Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi said in a September interview with AFP that she retained hope for change in Iran, despite having no prospect of release from prison and enduring the pain of separation from her family. In the interview, where Mohammadi gave written answers to AFP from Evin prison in Tehran, she insisted the protest movement that erupted one year ago in Iran against the Islamic republic is still alive.

₹2,000 notes worth ₹3.43 lakh crore have come back: RBI Governor

Governor Shaktikanta Das on October 6 said ₹3.43 lakh crore of ₹2,000 denomination notes have come back to the system so far, and reminded the public that they can return the withdrawn notes at 19 RBI offices from October 8.

Stock markets rally after RBI keeps repo rate unchanged

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for a second straight session on Friday after the Reserve Bank maintained the status quo on policy rates, resulting in gains for rate-sensitive sectors like financial, realty and auto.

Hangzhou Asian Games | Aman fights his way to bronze as Bajrang finishes without a medal

Aman Sehrawat booked his Asian Games ticket the hard way but there was always a question whether he would be as good as Ravi Dahiya, Olympic silver medalist and the man who rules in his weight category. On October 6, the 20-year old proved he was with a bronze in the 57kg here that stood out among the three India won in wrestling on the day for Aman’s resilience and determination. 

Hangzhou Asian Games | Satwik-Chirag enter final, keep first-ever gold medal hopes alive

‘Ice and fire’ was how Sattwiksairaj Rankireddy described his doubles partnership with friend Chirag Shetty as he embraced him. Satwik is the Iceman to Chirag’s Maverick. 

New Delhi:

The Election Commission on Friday met the warring factions of the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar over their claims to the party name and poll symbol. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar was present at the personal hearing of the rival factions called by the Election Commission, which decided to continue the proceedings on October 9.

Ajit Pawar, who had moved the Election Commission staking claim to the party name and poll symbol, submitted that he had the support of 42 of the 53 MLAs in Maharashtra, six of the nine MLCs, all seven MLAs in Nagaland, and one member each in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

At the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared before the poll panel on behalf of Sharad Pawar. Senior advocates N K Kaul and Maninder Singh were present on behalf of Ajit Pawar.

The faction led by Ajit Pawar had rebelled against NCP leader Sharad Pawar and moved the poll panel staking claim to the party name and symbol.

“Under the circumstances, the petitioner submits that he enjoys overwhelming support in the Organisational Wing as well as Legislative Wing of the NCP and therefore the present petition may be allowed by the Hon’ble Commission by recognising the faction led by the petitioner to be the real Political Party,” Ajit Pawar said in his submission to the Election Commission.

The Ajit Pawar faction submitted its arguments in support of its claim before the poll panel on Friday.

The arguments of the Ajit Pawar faction are expected to continue on Monday.

Sharad Pawar’s lawyer Mr Singhvi told reporters later that the claims made by Ajit Pawar were imaginary.

Two days before rebelling against uncle Sharad Pawar to join the Maharashtra government in early July, Ajit Pawar had approached the poll body on June 30 staking claim to the party name as well as symbol and subsequently also declared himself as the party president with the support of 40 lawmakers.

Recently, the Sharad Pawar-led faction had told the EC that there was no dispute in the party, except that a few mischievous individuals have defected from the organisation for their personal ambitions, a reference to the rebel group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. 

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

Pune:

NCP working president Supriya Sule said on Saturday that she has never said anything against her politically estranged cousin Ajit Pawar.

Ms Sule, who represents the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, was in Pune to pray to various Ganesh idols during Ganeshotsav.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) suffered a jolt in July after a group of party leaders led by Ajit Pawar broke away and joined the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra. Ms Sule has remained with her father and party founder Sharad Pawar.

Talking to reporters after paying obeisance to the deity at the Kasba Ganpati pandal, she said, “I never ask anything from God, I only thank them. This year, the state has received less rain, so I prayed to God for Maharashtra to receive good showers.” 

Asked about her recent speech referring to “bhai” (brother) in Parliament, Sule said, “Ajit Dada is my elder brother and I have never said anything against him. Whatever I said in Parliament is not against any person but against the statements made by honourable PM Modiji and Amit Shah.” 

Speaking in Parliament on the women’s reservation bill, Sule had said, “Har ghar mein aise bhai nahi hote hain jo behan ka kalyan dekhte hain (not every house has a brother that looks after the  well-being of the sister).” 

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised her party for the past 10 years but now he doesn’t say that NCP is a “Naturally Corrupt Party”.

“The BJP always conducted revenge politics. If allegations made against us are true, let there be an inquiry (against us). Also, if the allegations turn out to be false, BJP should apologise to us,” he said.

To a question about BJP Lok Sabha member Ramesh Bidhuri’s derogatory remarks in the Lower House against BSP MP Danish Ali, Sule said the comments were very unfortunate. The NCP and Trinamool Congress have already written to the Lok Sabha Speaker about the incident, she said. 

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