Deputy Chief Minister and NCP (AP) leader Ajit Pawar has hinted that he may not contest the upcoming state assembly elections. “I have contested seven or eight elections in Baramati, so I am not interested,” he said of the Pawar family stronghold.
Ever since his split with his uncle Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar has seemed to waver between playing his part in the Mahayuti government and trying to cement his position as a shrewd politician. His recent statement that it was a mistake to field his wife Sunetra against his sister Supriya was seen as a whitewashing maneuver in political circles.
Ajit on Thursday said it was for the party to decide whether his son Jay will contest from Baramati. To a question from media persons whether Jay will contest from Baramati as he himself is not interested, Ajit said, “This is democracy. If the people and supporters feel that way (Jay will contest), then the (NCP) parliamentary committee will discuss it.”
This statement, as expected, has created something of a stir among Ajit’s party workers and supporters. Sources say the party chief is quite upset over his wife Sunetra’s crushing defeat by 158,000 votes. His biggest challenge seems to be how to make up for the gap of over 47,000 votes that Baramati gave to Supriya Sule in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Sources say Ajit Pawar is so upset by this that he has recently asked all party leaders to resign in order to restructure the local party unit.
People close to him say the remarks could also be a ploy to gauge the mood in the constituency. By saying it was a mistake to field Sunetra, he could be sending a message that no member of the Pawar family should contest as an NCP (SP) candidate in the upcoming state assembly elections.
He is probably also trying to gauge the reaction towards his second son Jay as his elder son Parth failed to wield much influence after losing the Maval Lok Sabha seat in 2019. Ajit Pawar is said to be looking for another constituency to fight in and may focus on Indapur, sources said.
Rohit Pawar, grand-nephew of Sharad Pawar, who is representing Karjat Jamkhed constituency in the state assembly, recently alleged that someone from his family might be fielded against him. The Mahayuti Party is planning to field a candidate in my constituency to split the votes. It was speculated that Ajit was under pressure to field someone from his family against Sule. Now a similar strategy is being worked out in my constituency too, he said.
Meanwhile, state NCP leader Sunil Tatkare, while reacting to Ajit’s remarks, said the party leader had not said that he would not contest the upcoming state assembly elections. “He might have a plan. We want to win as many seats as possible,” Tatkare said.