Mumbai: Why Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has painted the Lok Sabha contest for Baramati seat as between PM Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi and not between Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar is part of a BJP strategy to keep the focus national, not local.
"Baramati has become a do-or-die battle for us. Even before Sunetra Pawar's candidature was announced, the BJP had focussed on this challenging constituency which it has never been able to win in Maharashtra," a senior BJP general secretary said, requesting anonymity.
A Mumbai-based journalist says the high-profile Baramati seat will see its three-term MP Sule contest against Sunetra, the wife of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The Pawar vs Pawar contest came about after Ajit Pawar split from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and joined the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government.
Both NCP factions admit that Baramati will not be a cakewalk for either candidate. And Fadnavis terming it as a 'Modi versus Gandhi' fight has queered the pitch.
"When we keep the battle as Modi vs Rahul, it helps override complexities at the local level. The debate automatically moves beyond Baramati to the national level," a poll strategist said.
Another reason for the BJP shifting its narrative is that the party would like to negate the sympathy factor in favour of Sharad Pawar, who is fighting one of the most challenging elections in his decadeslong political career.
A win in Baramati is also important for Ajit Pawar, who is looking to reassert his political hold in Maharashtra. With the Election Commission granting the NCP name and symbol to his faction, he may have won the first round but electorally, Ajit Pawar's leadership remains untested.
With Baramati being a Pawar family turf where people's outreach and emotional connections are high, neither Sule nor Sunetra is leaving anything to chance.
On Friday, Fadnavis embarked on his campaign rally from the Indapur Assembly seat in Baramati. Fadnavis has also ensured that Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) chief Mahadev Jankar stays in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, thereby ensuring that the sizeable Dhangar vote bank in Baramati would help Sunetra. In exchange, the BJP has given Jankar the Parbhani seat.
Meanwhile, in its internal meetings, the BJP has urged its workers to keep the campaign focused on Modi. Irrespective of candidate and party, we have to ensure our contest reflects Modi for a third term. The fight in every seat, every candidate is only for Modi, state party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.
