Lok Sabha Election 2024: Advantage Supriya Sule in Khadakwasla assembly after VBA support?
In Baramati, Sule is locked in fierce battle against Sunetra Pawar, wife of deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has decided not to field any candidate in neighbouring Baramati constituency and back Supriya Sule’s candidature even as the Prakash Ambedkar-led party has refused to go with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
The VBA support to Sule is likely to avoid division of votes for Nationalist Congress Party (SP) candidate while at the same time Vasant More joining the party will also help Sule get votes in Katra area, say political observers.
In Baramati, Sule is locked in fierce battle against Sunetra Pawar, wife of deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar.
Though the VBA has announced 16 Lok Sabha seats till date, the party has ensured the key candidates of the MVA are not affected by any vote division.
Besides Baramati, in Kolhapur too, VBA has decided to back Congress nominee Chhatrapati Shahu, who is descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
In Baramati, VBA has limited presence and party nominee Navnath Padalkar had garnered 44,000 votes in 2019 in mainly straight contest between Supriya Sule of NCP and Kanchan Kul.
A senior NCP (SP) requesting anonymity said, “The VBA in the past has dented vote share of Congress and NCP at many places as the constituency of both sides are more or less same. This time since VBA has extended support to Sule, the votes will not be diverted.”
Pradip Garatkar, district president of Ajit Pawar-led NCP said, the VBA does not have much of a presence in the constituency.
“So to say we are at a disadvantage is not correct. There may be few votes which will go in favour of rival candidate but on larger scale, there will not damage to Sunetra’s candidature,” he said.
