Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has hinted at not contesting the upcoming assembly elections from Baramati and instead field his son Jay Pawar from his traditional stronghold. He has left the final decision to party workers and the NCP parliamentary board. Speaking to the media in Pune, Ajit Pawar said that his son’s possible candidature from Baramati will depend on the demand of the public and party workers.
He said, “I am not interested in contesting elections. I have contested seven to eight elections. If there is a demand from the public and party workers about Jai, then the parliamentary board of NCP will take a decision. Whatever the decision, we will respect it.”
From which seat will Ajit Pawar contest the elections?
According to reports, he may make a strategic move by contesting from the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahmednagar district. This will be a big challenge for the sitting MLA Rohit Pawar, who won the seat in the last assembly elections by defeating BJP’s Ram Shinde. The possibility of Ajit Pawar contesting from Karjat-Jamkhed has intensified after Rohit Pawar’s tweet.
His tweet comes after Ajit Pawar publicly admitted in an interview that fielding his wife against Supriya Sule in Baramati was a mistake. Reacting to the confession, Rohit Pawar said, “I was sure that the decision to field Sunetra Kaki against Supriya Tai was not Dada’s. You have admitted in an interview that it was a mistake, but your colleagues keep saying that it was Dada’s decision. Though you call it a mistake, it was actually due to pressure from Gujarat leaders sitting in Delhi. Now, there is talk of similar pressure on you regarding my constituency for the assembly elections.”
This tweet has fueled speculation that Ajit Pawar may contest from Karjat-Jamkhed. This has led to an important electoral battle within the Pawar family.