Ajit Pawar has the last laugh in Pawar vs Pawar showdown in Baramati
The defeat of Yugendra Pawar has come as a jolt for Sharad Pawar who had made a strong, emotional pitch for his grandnephew, stating that it was time for a new generation to take over
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP (AP) leader Ajit Pawar is set to emerge victorious in a high-stakes poll battle against his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar from the family bastion of Baramati.
This was the second Pawar vs Pawar showdown in Baramati in less than six months. In the Lok Sabha elections, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule had defeated Ajit’s wife Sunetra Pawar by margin of over 1.5 lakh votes.
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The defeat of Yugendra Pawar has come as a jolt for Sharad Pawar who had made a strong, emotional pitch for his grandnephew, stating that it was time for a new generation to take over. “Ajit was made deputy chief minister, not once, twice, but three times (in Congress-NCP governments). He also worked. I have no complaints. But what should we do next? First, it was my generation, later it was Ajit dada and now the next generation is of Yugendra Pawar,” the Rajya Sabha MP had said.
The fiercely contested battle brought the split in the Pawar family to fore like never before, as members from both the sides rallied around their respective candidates in the run-up to polls. Sharad Pawar's wife Pratibha, who generally keeps away from politics, and Supriya Sule's daughter Revati were also seen mobilising support for Yugendra. Surprised at the turn of events, Ajit Pawar even said his aunt Pratibha Pawar never campaigned in the past but is doing so for his rival now.
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Ajit Pawar too roped in his mother Asha Pawar to seek votes for him on the last day of the campaign on November 20, prompting NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule to allege that he was dragging his ailing mother into politics.
Interestingly, Ajit Pawar had, on more than one occasion in the past, admitted that fielding his wife Sunetra against his cousin Supriya during the Lok Sabha polls was a mistake, saying, “The society doesn’t like rifts in families.”