Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party President Ajit Pawar on Friday hinted at feilding his wife against his cousin, Supriya Sule, from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Sule, the daughter of veteran politician Sharad Pawar, is the incumbent MP from Baramati, which has been a bastion of the Pawar family since at least 1967.

Baramati is currently represented by Ajit Pawar as its MLA in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. In a speech at his constituency, Ajit Pawar said that he will field a candidate who has never contested an election earlier, but will have the support of those with ample experience. The announcement has sparked speculations that his wife, Sunetra Pawar, will be pitted against Sule from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.

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"Since the formation of Maharashtra state and the commencement of elections till date, it has never happened in Baramati that the deposit of opposition candidate was not forfeited. And I am proud of it," Ajit Pawar said. He further urged the people to show their love and said, "People will come to you and ask for your votes on emotional issues but it is up to you to decide whether you will vote on emotional grounds or to continue development work and for the welfare of your future generations."

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In a veiled attack on Sule, he said, "Those who work, are bound to face allegations. Those who do not work, are bound to remain clean." According to reports, a publicity campaign for Sunetra has already began in Baramati. If the speculations come to fruition, Baramati will witness a high-octane batte between Sunetra, a novice in electoral poitics, and Sule, who has been representing the constituency in Lok Sabha for three consecutive terms since 2009.

The anticipated battle becomes much more interesting in the light of recent events surrounding the NCP. On Thursday, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled in the favour of the party faction led by Ajit Pawar and labelled it the "real" NCP. Earlier, the Election Commission also allotted the Ajit Pawar-led faction the party name and symbol. Last year, Ajit Pawar led a rebellion, along with a group of NCP legislators, against uncle Sharad Pawar, splitting the party into two.

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Following his faction's joining of Maharashtra's ruling BJP-Shiv Sena coalition, Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state. Eight NCP MLAs, part of the Ajit-led faction, also joined the state government as ministers.

(With inputs from ANI)


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