Despite chequered past, Ajit Pawar enjoys firm support in Baramati

Baramati: Back in 2019, when Ajit Anantrao Pawar attempted an early-morning unsuccessful coup by joining hands with the BJP, voters from his constituency were initially baffled. As the day progressed, however, they made up their mind to stand firmly behind their leader.

Three and a half years later, Ajit Pawar is back in the news, this time amid widespread speculation about a repeat performance. Although the 63-year-old leader has himself dismissed the conjecture, many loyalists from his constituency say he is a “man on a mission”, undeterred by anyone or anything.

“The relationship between the people of Baramati and Ajit Dada is beyond that of a leader and his voters,” said Kiran Gujar, NCP leader from Baramati who has been with Ajit since the early days and handled his election campaigns locally. “After the senior Pawar, it is Ajit Dada who has changed the face of Baramati. Most people here see him as their guardian who helps them in any eventuality.”

Voters from this rain shadow region say that their affection for Sharad Pawar remains intact, but politically they side with Ajit Pawar who has emerged as a leader in his own right after being in politics for four decades. For these 70,000-odd voters, Ajit is now the guardian that Pawar was for many years.

In his long political career, Ajit’s name has cropped up in multiple cases that have attracted probes by different agencies, from the irrigation scam a decade earlier to the most recent one concerning the sale of a sugar mill. Two years ago, the income-tax department carried out raids at several premises of firms linked directly or indirectly with him. But despite his chequered past and reputation for dodgy political manoeuvring, the NCP leader reportedly remains popular in Baramati.

Surprisingly, despite Baramati being an old NCP bastion, the word is that voters are likely to support him regardless of his political affiliations. “Ajit Dada is our leader and we are solidly with him, whichever way he chooses to go,” said Tarabai Pawar, whose husband runs an eatery on the Baramati-Saswad road.

Tarabai is among the many people who have been voting for Ajit for years. In 2019, the leader was elected from Baramati by a margin of 1.65 lakh votes against his nearest rival from the BJP, Gopichand Padalkar. It was a record margin for Ajit, who represented the constituency for the sixth straight term in the Maharashtra assembly.

Baramati has been dominated by the Pawars—Sharad, his daughter Supriya Sule and Ajit—for five decades. The region, scarred by drought, has progressively integrated itself with the industrialisation and prosperous sugar belt of western Maharashtra. “If Saheb (Sharad Pawar) brought industries here and employment to people in the early days, Dada too is credited with the development of Baramati town and bringing in industries in the recent past,” said Amar Mahadik, a young NCP leader who works closely with Ajit.

According to Mahadik, both Pawars exhibited a vision that benefited Baramati. Ajit is said to have undertaken several development projects in the town, including the construction of roads, schools, and hospitals. “He has also worked to improve the agricultural infrastructure in the region, which has helped farmers,” said Tarabai. Added Mahadik, “The people here want Ajit Dada to become chief minister at least once.”

Starting off as a protégé of his uncle, Ajit was seen as the political heir apparent, and many believed he would take over the reins of the NCP. But while he has remained the second most influential leader in the party after Sharad Pawar, in recent years he has been charting out his own political path even while remaining with the NCP. Many in Baramati believe that his 2019 rebellion against the NCP, where he secretly allied with the BJP to form a government in Maharashtra, was the culmination of a process that began in 2006 when his cousin, Supriya, entered politics.

Though it took a few hours for Baramatikars to grasp what happened on that 2019 morning, they were by and large happy that Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as his deputy were at the helm in the state, said Mahadik. “The people of Baramati would like that experiment to be repeated since they are in favour of development,” he claimed.

The four-time deputy chief minister has come a long way from being a novice under the shadow of his uncle. His political journey has been marked by controversies, but he has always managed to bounce back, thanks to the adoring people of Baramati. Ajit Pawar’s political move remains uncertain, but Baramati locals aver that they will back him whichever way the tide turns.

Multiple controversies

In his political career spanning four decades, Ajit Pawar’s name cropped up in multiple cases that have attracted probes by different agencies. In October 2021, the income tax department carried out raids at several premises of firms linked directly or indirectly with him. The action came barely months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties including land, building, plant and machinery of Jarandeshwar Sugar mill worth ₹65.75 crore. The assets were held in the name of Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd and leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills, the majority of its shares are owned by Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd, which is linked to Pawar and his wife Sunetra. While Pawar’s role in the bank and in some of the companies that bought the sugar cooperatives which had taken loans from the bank was mentioned extensively in the chargesheet filed by the ED earlier in April 2023, the leader has not been named an accused in the case so far. The ED has named Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd, its chartered accountant Yogesh Barecha and Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd as accused. Pawar later clarified that the ED had not given him a clean chit.