Supriya vs Sunetra: Baramati ist major electoral battle for Pawar clan rivals

Baramati in Maharashtra’s Pune district is one of the most keenly watched seats in the state in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls as it is for the first time that two members of the influential Pawar family are contesting against each other.

Sharad Pawar’s daughter and sitting MP Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar have been pitted against each other by the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) from the constituency that goes to polls on May 7.

This is also the first major electoral battle between the factions after the party split in July last year.

In February, the Election Commission (EC) recognised the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP as the official party and granted it the party’s “clock” symbol while allotting “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” as the party name for the group led by Sharad Pawar.

With the constituency gearing up for polling in the third round of the seven-phase general elections, campaigning by the candidates has intensified as winning at the hustings has become a matter of prestige for them in the home turf of the Pawars.

While Sule, a Sansad Ratna awardee, is seeking a fourth term to the Lower House of Parliament, Sunetra Pawar, who is an officebearer of various educational and industry bodies and has been active in the social sphere of Baramati, is contesting her maiden Lok Sabha election. The core part of the constituency comprises the rural region where voters hail mainly from an agricultural background. The fringe assembly segments under it, including Khadakwasla and areas like Hinjawadi, which houses the IT hub, Balewadi, Dhankwadi, Chandani Chowk, form its urban pockets.