The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ran Kanchan Rahul Kul from Baramati against Supriya Sule from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This was done to make sure Sule had a formidable opponent and to give the BJP a chance to win the seat, which had previously been Sharad Pawar’s stronghold. Sule outpolled Kul by more than 1,30,000 votes, nonetheless.
The Pawar family has always had the support of the Baramati town. On a Congress ticket, Sharad Pawar first won election as an MLA from this area in 1967.
Supriya Sule has been the MP since 2009, while Ajit Pawar has served as the MLA since 1991. The older Pawar is revered among Baramatikars, who also appreciate Ajit Pawar. No other political party has been able to penetrate the Pawar stronghold since 1960. In reality, the Congress and other political parties have seen their influence decline, while the Shiv Sena is not active in this area.
Was this in mind when Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis forged their alliance in advance of the Lok Sabha elections the following year?
BJP office holders in Baramati claim that the party began preparing the area for the general elections two years ago. Nirmala Sitharaman, the union finance minister, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Chandrakant Dada Patil, and other well-known figures have been traveling to Baramati and mingling with people and party members to establish a presence.
It’s ‘B for Baramati’ this year, just as it was ‘A for Amethi’ in 2019. The BJP will be able to achieve its goal of 45 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra now that we have Ajit Pawar’s backing, according to Satish Phalke, BJP Baramati municipal president.
We are pretty clear about our position. We are in Ajit Dada’s corner. But we would be there for Saheb (Sharad Pawar) if he needs our assistance in garnering support for Supriya Tai, a top NCP official in Baramati said.
Does this imply that the BJP would use a similar tactic in Baramati to the one it employed in 2019 to capture the Congress stronghold Amethi in Uttar Pradesh? Or would the coalition members quarrel over who will run for this vital Maharashtra seat?
