Pune (Maharashtra) [India]: NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar commented on Tuesday regarding Yugendra Pawar’s candidacy for the Baramati assembly seat against NCP chief Ajit Pawar. He underlined the democratic right to contest elections and the need for peaceful campaigning.
He said, “Be it Ajit Pawar or Yugendra Pawar, everyone has the right to contest elections in a democracy. It should be contested peacefully and try to put forward your policies before the public.” Sharad Pawar highlighted the importance of a peaceful election process and clear communication of policies.
NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule said the fight was not within the family but between the NCP and the BJP’s power
“This is democracy…This is not a contest between uncle (Ajit Pawar) and nephew (Yugendra Pawar). This is our ideological fight against BJP. Our fight is not with an individual…I don’t think is Pawar vs Pawar. This is NCP Maharashtra vs BJP ‘invisible power’,” she said.
Earlier on Monday, Nationalist Congress Party leader Sunetra Pawar praised her husband and party chief, Ajit Pawar, saying he has worked “earnestly and honestly” for the Baramati constituency. The Baramati constituency in Maharashtra is set to witness a high-stakes family battle as NCP leader Ajit Pawar faces his nephew, Yugendra Pawar, who is the son of Ajit Pawar’s younger brother, Shrinivas Pawar. “For the last 35 years, Ajit Pawar has been working in Baramati. He has transformed Baramati. He has worked for everyone. People want someone who works round the clock for them, and they see that in him,” Sunetra Pawar said while speaking to media.
Baramati also witnessed a high-profile battle in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when Sunetra Pawar contested against NCP (SCP) candidate Supriya Sule. The latter won the contest by 1.5 lakh votes.
Further discussing the ‘Ladli Behan Yojana’ introduced by the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, which aims to improve the economic status of women in the state by transferring Rs 1,500 through direct benefit transfer, Sunetra Pawar said that every woman in the state is happy with the current state of governance. “All women are happy with the Chief Minister’s Ladli Behna Yojana; they have gained respect and their own money, so every woman is very happy,” she said.
Last week, the NCP announced a list of 45 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. Both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi–comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress–are leaving no stone unturned to secure victory in the upcoming assembly elections in the state. The BJP is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance alongside the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.