Will Jay Pawar Contest Baramati Municipal Council Election? Here's What Ajit Pawar Said

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has put speculations to rest about his younger son, Jay Pawar, entering active politics and contesting the upcoming Baramati Municipal Council election for the post of council president.

Speaking to reporters in Baramati on Sunday, Ajit Pawar said, “I have also heard about it (rumours of his son contesting the polls), but nothing of that sort is going to happen.”

The elections for 246 Municipal Councils (Nagar Parishads) and 42 Municipal Panchayats (Nagar Panchayats) in Maharashtra are scheduled for December 2, and the counting of votes will be conducted the next day, on December 3.

The Election Commission has confirmed a total of 1.07 crore registered voters for these elections. The demographic breakdown includes 53.79 lakh male voters, 53.22 lakh female voters, and 775 transgender voters.

Meanwhile, when asked about the Mahayuti’s strategy for the upcoming local body elections, Ajit Pawar said, “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, NCP state president Sunil Tatkare, BJP state president Ravindra Chavan, and others will discuss and take a decision accordingly.”

‘Random’ accusations raised in poll season

Forced to do the firefighting to defend his son in the controversial Pune land deal, Ajit Pawar wondered how a document could be registered without a “transaction of one rupee” and sought to link the allegations with the elections to local bodies. He reiterated that the ongoing inquiry will reveal the truth about the land deal to the public.

“Earlier too, allegations of (irregularities of) ₹70,000 crore were raised against me. It’s been 15 to 16 years since then. Whenever there are elections, multiple accusations are made against us. We try to work transparently, but as soon as we do, people start digging up and alleging against random land deals,” Pawar said.

The DCM said he had already clarified his position on the issue over the past few days. “An inquiry has begun, and the truth will soon come before the public. I still don’t understand how a document can be registered without even a transaction of one rupee? We’ll know within a month why the person who carried out this registration actually did it,” the NCP chief said.