Amidst recent speculation about Sunetra Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s wife to likely be contesting 2024 Lok Sabha elections against National Congress Party’s Supriya Sule from Baramati constituency, Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP president and in-charge of Lokshabha seats in Maharashtra said NDA is confident that it will win the seat although who will contest from the seat cannot be disclosed.
“I don’t want to comment on the name right now but yes I can certainly say that we as NDA are confident that we are winning Baramati with record breaking margin. As we have cader support there and that is why we are confident about Baramati LS seat,” he said. Baramati has been faithful to the Pawar family. Sharad Pawar himself became an MLA from the constituency in 1967 under the Congress banner. Since 2009, Supriya Sule has represented the constituency in the Lok Sabha, while Ajit Pawar has held the position of MLA since 1991. After Ajit’s split from NCP early this year, and joining the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government as deputy chief minister, he visited Baramati and was given a grand welcome.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) put up a strong candidate in Baramati against Supriya Sule from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to challenge the Pawar family’s stronghold. Although Sule won, the BJP is now making renewed efforts, supported by Ajit Pawar, to win the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in 2024. BJP leaders have been actively building their presence in Baramati, indicating their intentions. Prominent leaders such as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and Chandrakant Dada Patil have all visited Baramati, engaging with party members, workers, and locals to build a strong presence.
The recent events suggest that reconciliation between Ajit and Sharad Pawar is unlikely, setting the stage for a fierce electoral battle.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 seats and the Shiv Sena won 18 in Maharashtra, while the NCP secured four constituencies, with Congress, AIMIM, and an Independent each winning one seat.