Maharashtra polls: NCP names Ajit Pawar as candidate from Baramati

PUNE: A day after BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil switched over to NCP (SP) and proclaimed that it was his “invisible hand” that helped MP Supriya Sule garner the numbers in Baramati in the Lok Sabha elections, NCP working president Praful Patel on Tuesday announced that deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar will be the party’s candidate for the upcoming assembly polls from Baramati.

This is quite the U-turn, as Pawar has been saying over the last few days that he will not contest elections from Baramati and will field another candidate instead.

“Let me clear this to you that Ajit Pawar will contest the polls from Baramati as the NCP candidate,” said Patel in Mumbai. “Let there not be any ambiguity on this. I am making this an official announcement.”

Incidentally, around the same time that Patel made the announcement, party supporters thronged Pawar’s convoy at Satav Square in Baramati, urging him to contest the polls from his hometown. He eventually stepped out of his vehicle and told the crowd: “I will field the candidate of your choice.”

Last month, Pawar had indicated that he may not contest the polls from Baramati, leading to speculation that he may shift to another constituency and field his son, Jay Pawar, from Baramati, instead.

Addressing NCP workers in Baramati on September 8, he had said, “I am 65 and I am satisfied. Baramatikars should get an MLA other than me, at least once. And then, they should compare my career from 1991 to 2024 with the performance of my successor.”

In subsequent meetings, he reiterated that his supporters will have to work for the candidate he plans to field from Baramati, adding further grist to the rumour mill that he may not be keen to contest the assembly polls from his hometown this time.

From the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), Yugendra Pawar is likely to contest the polls from the sugar bowl. He has already hit the ground making preparations.

Incidentally, Ajit Pawar has contested the assembly polls six times from Baramati. In the recently held Lok Sabha polls, his wife Sunetra Pawar lost to Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP).