Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is heavily banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help swing votes in favour of his wife and NCP candidate Sunetra in Baramati. Its a straight contest between sitting M.P. Supriya Sule of the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Sunetra Pawar. The Ajit dada faction is facing high levels of anxiety because if Sunetra is trounced then it will be a huge setback for her husband, Ajit Pawar. As for the BJP is also going out of its way to ensure the defeat of Supriya so that it will deliver a body blow to her father, Pawar Sr, who has treated Baramati as his pocket borough all these decades. The BJP has been trying hard to make in roads into Baramati, but in vain. It sees the upcoming election as an opportunity to spread its wings in this prestigious seat.
Senior BJP leader and minister Chandrakant Patil has written to the party campaign war room in New Delhi to allot a slot for Modi's meeting in Khadakwasla so that apart from Baramati, neighbouring constituencies like Shirur, Pune and Maval are also covered. He is yet to receive a confirmation.
NCP's Strategy For The Upcoming Lok Sabha Elections
The NCP (SP) is banking on the development works undertaken by Ajit Pawar in Baramati over the years. The award-winning performance of Supriya as a parliamentarian is another factor in her favour. Also, Supriya has been consistently very accessible to the local people unlike Sunetra, who is a political novice who has been living in the shadow of her husband. In fact, many in the NCP (Ajit Pawar) are of the opinion that Ajitdada should not have fielded his wife specially when there are other capable persons in the party unit in Baramati which will go to the polls on May 7 in the third phase of the elections.
Impact On Baramati's Political Outlook
Supporters of Ajit Pawar are recalling the public meeting at which Modi revealed a few years ago that he learnt politics with Pawar holding his little finger. He attributed his success to the grooming he received from Pawar. Also it is well known that Pawar and Modi enjoy a good personal equation. Several times Pawar had met Modi in Delhi like when Sanjay Raut was facing the heat from the Enforcement Directorate. After this meeting the ED started going easy on the Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson. Also, the ED had sent a notice some years ago to Sharad Pawar, but nothing came out of it because of the PM's reported intervention. Also, Modi had publicly named Ajit Pawar of being involved in the Rs 90,000-cr irrigation scam because of which farmers suffered a lot due to lack of water. Given these facts, it will not be surprising if Modi does not address a meeting specifically aimed at Baramati.
Ajit Pawar's Claims Of Joining Maha Yuti Government Under Scrutiny
Ajit Pawar is emphasising on developmental issues. He claims every where that he joined the Maha Yuti government to ensure the development of Baramati and the rest of Maharashtra. But, there are hardly any takers for his claim because it is well known that he joined hands with the BJP only to get the ED off his back.
