NCP (SP) declares list of 45 candidates; it’s Pawar vs Pawar again in Baramati

Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) declared its first list of 45 candidates on Thursday, rewarding loyalists and setting the stage for a Pawar versus Pawar battle in Baramati. The party has fielded Yugendra Pawar as its Baramati candidate, opposite his uncle and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who split the NCP in June 2023. Yugendra is the son of Ajit Pawar’s younger brother Shrinivas and grand-nephew of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

This means Baramati will see another Pawar versus Pawar contest, after Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, defeated Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

“I humbly accept the decision and express gratitude towards Pawar saheb and other senior leaders for showing faith in me. I will try to seize the opportunity,” said Yugendra Pawar, after the list was announced.

The NCP (SP) has been allotted 85 seats in the seat-sharing arrangement among the three parties in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. “This is the first list of 45 candidates and we’re finalising the remaining 40 seats by Friday,” said state party president Jayant Patil, while declaring the candidates’ list.

In its first list, the party has fielded 12 sitting MLAs, who remained loyal to Sharad Pawar when the party split last year. It also included Dr Rajendra Shingne, who returned to the party last week. The list has several young faces, who will be making their electoral debut, such as Rohit Pawar, son of former deputy chief minister R R Patil.

Among the sitting MLAs who have been renominated, Jayant Patil will contest from Islampur, Anil Deshmukh from Katol, Rajesh Tope from Ghansawangi, Jitendra Awhad from Mumbra-Kalwa, Prajakt Tanpure from Rahuri, Balasaheb Patil from Karad North, Ashokrao Pawar from Shirur, Mansingrao Naik from from Shirala, Sunil Bhusara from Vikramgad, and Rohit Pawar from Karjat-Jamkhed.

Other leaders too, who have stuck with the party during difficult times, have been rewarded with tickets. They are Jayprakash Dandegaonkar, nominated from Basmath constituency in Hingoli; Gulabrao Deokar, who will contest from Jalgaon Rural; Rakhi Jadhav from Ghatkopar East; and Shashikant Shinde, nominated for the Koregaon assembly seat. Shinde lost the Lok Sabha polls from the Satara constituency by over 32,000 votes.

The following NCP-SP candidates have been fielded against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders: Harshvardhan Patil, Sandeep Naik, Raje Samarjeetsinh Ghatge and Bapusaheb Pathare. Patil will contest from Indapur, Naik from Belapur, Ghatge from Kagal, and Pathare from Wadgan-Sheri.

The party has nominated Rani Lanke, wife of NCP (SP) sitting MP from Ahmednagar constituency, Nilesh Lanke. He returned to the Sharad Pawar fold from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP camp ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Rani will contest from Parner, a seat won by Nilesh in the last assembly elections.

Also in the first list is Bhagyashree Atram from the Aheri assembly seat. She is the daughter of sitting NCP MLA and minister Dharamrao Atram, who switched loyalties to Ajit Pawar. The NCP (SP) has also fielded Rohini Khadse, daughter of former BJP minister Eknath Khadse, from Muktainagar. Khadse represented the constituency for six terms.

Rohini is among the NCP (SP)’s young debutant candidates. The other names in the young brigade are Yugendra Pawar from Baramati, Rohit Patil from Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal, Mehboob Shaikh from Ashti, Bhagyashree Atram from Aheri among others.