Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Baramati, which has been a major seat for the Pawars in Maharashtra, will witness another family battle in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls. In round two, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar will take on his nephew Yugendra Pawar, who is contesting the Baramati seat from the rival NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
In the Lok Sabha elections, the Baramati seat saw the first Pawar vs Pawar battle, when NCP’s Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra was pitted against Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule. The NCP (SP) had emerged victorious, as Sule won the seat defeating Sunetra Pawar by more than 1.5 lakh votes. At that time, Yugendra Pawar had campaigned extensively for Sule in the Baramati Assembly segment, helping her gain a 48,000 votes lead.
Who Is Yugendra Pawar?
Yugendra Pawar is the grandson of Sharad Pawar and the son of Shrinivas Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s younger brother. Yugendra Pawar is known to be very calm, composed, and soft-spoken person, and is also regarded as an excellent organiser. He is said to be involved in working towards bringing more youth into politics.
He serves as the treasurer of Vidya Pratishthan, Baramati. Besides this, he is also the president of the Baramati Taluka Wrestling Association, a local outfit of wrestlers in the district.
Yugendra Pawar completed his higher education in the US but later returned to join his father’s business. He now serves as the Director of the Sharayu Group of Companies, which deals with logistics, automobile dealerships, security services, and real estate.
After the split in the NCP, Yugendra has continuously supported Sharad Pawar. He has actively shared Sharad Pawar’s photos, videos, and speeches on social media, making efforts to present his grandfather’s side to the public.
On Tuesday, Yugendra expressed his support for the NCP (SP) and its candidates and said that he would work towards carrying Sharad Pawar’s ideologies forward.
“We have done good work during the Lok Sabha election and will have to do the same during the Assembly polls. We have to carry forward the thoughts of Sharad Pawar and the progressive ideologies of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule, and Babasaheb Ambedkar. I will give full support to the NCP(SP) candidates,” Indian Express quoted him as saying.
After Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra was defeated in the Lok Sabha polls, he admitted that it was a mistake to field her against his cousin Supriya Sule. It is to be noted that Ajit Pawar had been winning Baramati since 1991.
He had also hinted that he did not wish to contest the Maharashtra polls but later agreed to it as his supporters and party leaders convinced him.