The battle for Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra this year could be interesting.
All eyes will be on Baramati seat, the stronghold of the Pawar family, where Sharad Pawar’s daughter and sitting MP Supriya Sule will face competition from her own sister-in-law and wife of state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar. Ajit Pawar himself has fueled these speculations and discussions.
On Friday in Baramati, Ajit Pawar, without naming anyone, made an emotional appeal to his voters that in the next general elections, elect a candidate from Baramati Lok Sabha seat who is contesting for the first time but is surrounded by experienced people.
Ajit Pawar did not take the name of wife Sunetra Pawar during his address but hinted that his wife will contest against sister Supriya Sule in the upcoming elections.
Who is Sunetra Pawar?
60-year-old Sunetra Pawar is Ajit Pawar’s wife. She belongs to a big political family of the state. His brother Padamsingh Patil is a former minister, while his nephew Rana Jagjitsingh Padamsingh Patil is a BJP MLA from Osmanabad. Ajit Pawar and Sunetra Pawar have two sons.
Jai and Parth Pawar. Jai runs the family business, while Parth is in politics. He had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Maval but was unsuccessful.
Sunetra Pawar has so far stayed away from active politics but has been actively participating in social service work. She is the founder of Environmental Forum of India, an NGO established in 2010. Her official website says that she has been a guide in developing the concept of eco-villages in India. According to the website, she is also a trustee of the indigenous and renowned educational institution Vidya Pratishthan. According to the website, Sunetra Pawar has been a think tank member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum of France since 2011.
Media reports say that Ajit Pawar is actively promoting the social work of his wife Sunetra Pawar. The NCP unit in Baramati has launched a chariot on which the details of the social work done by Sunetra Pawar are written. This chariot will roam in the entire Lok Sabha constituency. At present Supriya Sule is the MP from Baramati. Before him, his father and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar has been an MP continuously from 1996 to 2004. Supriya Sule is the MP from here since 2009.
Baramati constituency and Pawar family
Baramati seat has traditionally been the stronghold of the Pawar family. Sharad Pawar won the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections from Baramati seat in 1967, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1985 and 1990 and also won the Lok Sabha elections from Baramati in 1984, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Pawar senior had won the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Madha. Supriya Sule has been representing here for the last three times in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
Ajit Pawar won the Baramati Lok Sabha election in 1991 and subsequently, has won the assembly election from there seven times – in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019.