"Unfortunate...": Sharad Pawar's Grandnephew On Contesting Against Ajit Pawar

Despite familial ties, Yugendra Pawar, a candidate from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, is set to contest the Maharashtra assembly elections against his uncle Ajit Pawar from Baramati.

Yugendra Pawar is the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar and will be making his political debut in the Maharashtra Assembly elections to be held on November 20.

Speaking to ANI, when asked about him contesting election against his own uncle who has won this seat seven times, he said, "I feel it is quite sad, quite unfortunate that this had to come in the family. Not in Vidhan Sabha but it started in Lok Sabha and we were always together and even the incumbent MLA was always under the guidance of the founder of the party and family patriarch Sharad Pawar Sahab. What happened all of India has seen. The party split and the symbol was given to them by the election commission."

Baramati will see another Pawar versus Pawar contest, after Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, defeated Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Ajit Pawar had split the NCP in June 2023.

Yugendra Pawar added, "This was unfortunate but all of us in the family decided that we need to stay with Pawar Sahab because he is the founder of the NCP, he is the patriarch of the family and it is because of him that not only Baramati but everybody around also prospered."

Yugendra Pawar feels that the fight against his own uncle won't be tough but won't be easy either. He said, "I don't think it will be tough but I don't even think that it will be easy either. Initially, Pawar Sahab was supporting Ajit Pawar, we fondly call him Dada, but people of Baramati in large numbers are behind Pawar Sahab and that is what they showed in Lok Sabha. They will show this in the upcoming assembly as well as other elections also."

On his political debut from Baramati he said, "It is very satisfying, I am quite happy and I humbly accept the responsibility given to me by the party and respectable Pawar Sahab, State President Jayant Patil and as well as our Working President Supriya Tai Sule," he said.

In its first list, the Nationalist Congress party (Sharad Pawar faction) has fielded 12 sitting MLAs who remained loyal to Sharad Pawar when the party split last year. The party declared its first list of 45 candidates on Thursday. It has been allotted 85 seats in the seat-sharing arrangement among the three parties in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.

The Baramati candidate emphasised various issues that need to be addressed in the region.

"There are lot of issues, there are a range of problems that need to be taken care of. Like crime has increased not only in Baramati but all of Maharashtra. Then there is also a local issue like the old people, we call them Gao Pudharis, these local netas or the sewaks have not been changed for quite some time. They have not been the way a lok pratinidhi should behave. That needs to change somewhere. We need someone who will be amongst them, somebody who will be with them, will be available, who can hear them out and that system has not only been there in Baramati for quite a long time that needs to change," Yugendra Pawar said. 

"Unemployment is a very big issue in Baramati as well as in Maharashtra. Also, water is a major problem in Baramati. Today, even though the monsoon is going on, there are close to 25 to 30 villages that still do not have drinking water. This is a drought-prone area. Pawar sahab brought water to the region around 35 to 40 years ago but after that not a single irrigation scheme has been brought to Baramati because of which a lot of villages today also are still drought-prone. We have a river over here called the Nira, the water is so polluted that even though we have water we cannot spread it to where it is actually needed," he added.

Mr Pawar also spoke about the controversies going around the reservation system in the country.

"Reservation is something that was given to us by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and I feel like there are certain sections of society that still do need them. It will still be useful to them and our MP from Baramati Supriya Tai Sule has also spoken on this issue in Parliament and asked for reservation for certain sections so I personally also support her stand and our party's stand on this issue," he said.

Yugendra Pawar has been to all the villages in Baramati before contesting the election and plans to go around the area again after two days. "Pawar sahab is my mentor, my guide or 'margdarshak'. He always tells me that you should go amongst people, you should not only focus on big cities or the big villages but it's important to go to small 'wadis' or 'vastis'. When I go there people, tell me after Pawar Sahab nobody else has ever reached out to them. Being there, you get to see the constituency and the issues, the problems that people are facing. I like to be on the field and not sitting on a desk or (in front of a) computer," he said.

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