Rival Pawars face tough contest in Baramati as third challenger emerges
The Hindu
The crucial Baramati Lok Sabha seat, which both the rival NCP factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar have claimed, may witness a three-way contest
The crucial Baramati Lok Sabha seat, which both the rival NCP factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar have claimed, may witness a three-way contest after Vijay Shivtare, a former Maharashtra Minister and senior leader of the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, announced his intention to contest the seat, which is a bastion of the Pawar clan.
Mr. Shivtare, spewing vitriol on the Pawar clan, in particular at Ajit Pawar — his current ally in the government — said on Monday that the time had come to take revenge on the Pawar clan. The Shinde camp leader’s comments come in the wake of increased tensions among the three Mahayuti partners — the BJP, Mr. Shinde’s Sena faction, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP — over seat-sharing.
A former two-term MLA from Purandar (one of six Assembly segments in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat), Mr. Shivtare’s remarks will increase Ajit Pawar’s worries, given that the Deputy CM is widely believed to be seeking a ticket for his wife, Sunetra, as the Mahayuti’s potential candidate to take on incumbent MP, Supriya Sule (Sharad Pawar’s daughter).
“Baramati is a Lok Sabha constituency and not anybody’s private property,” Mr. Shivtare, said, lashing out at the Pawar clan.
Stating that the Pawar family had been elected from Baramati for 50 years, he exhorted voters not to vote for Ajit Pawar in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. He was speaking during a public meeting on Sunday evening.
“Why should we vote for them? [Pawar clan] What have we gained? The time has come for revenge against them. This family [Pawar family] has held the voters of Baramati hostage for all these years. I am going to contest against them,” said Mr. Shivtare.
The Shinde Sena leader’s decision to contest separately is threatening a potential fragmentation of votes within the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
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