Can Ajit Pawar Retain His Citadel Baramati As Rival NCP (SP) Fields His nephew Yugendra Pawar?
Ajit Pawar’s citadel, Baramati, is no longer safe for the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, especially following the split in the NCP. His rival Sharad Pawar’s NCP has fielded Ajit Pawar’s nephew Yugendra Pawar, pushing the constituency into an intense high-profile family battle. The NCP-SP on Thursday announced Yugendra as its candidate for Baramati.
Given the Lok Sabha election result, the six-time Baramati MP is feared that it would not be easy as before to sail through the upcoming assembly elections, especially considering the split in the party and subsequent developments in the state politics. As the first electoral exercise since the split in the party, the recent Lok Sabha election saw Baramati parliamentary constituency standing with NCP (SP) candidate Supriya Sule, who defeated her relative and Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar by securing 7,32,312 votes against 5,73,979 accumulated by Sunetra Pawar.
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As the son of Ajit Pawar’s younger brother Shrinivas, the challenge posed by the MVA candidate to the deputy chief minister’s in his stronghold cannot be played down.
The 32-year-old Yugendra studied in Europe and the US, and he graduated in finance and insurance from Northeastern University, Boston. Yugendra led an active campaign with his granduncle Sharad Pawar during the recent Lok Sabha elections, which found fruitful in the result. His “Swabhiman Yatra” to connect with the people of Baramati is also said to be a successful venture, anticipating his candidature from the constituency.
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However, it would not be easy for Yugendra to capture Baramati given Ajit Pawar’s strong and historic ties with the people of his constituency. Last month, Ajit Pawar said that Baramati needs a change in its MLA, noting that then only the people can compare his works as a legislator from his constituency. He has been representing the seat since 1991.
