In a reprieve for the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, former Minister Vijay Shivtare, a senior leader of the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena (Mr. Pawar’s ally in the Mahayuti government), was finally persuaded to withdraw from the election to the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. He would have been the third candidate.
Mr. Ajit Pawar is likely to field his wife Sunetra from Baramati against the incumbent MP, Supriya Sule, who is NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Mr. Ajit Pawar’s cousin.
Earlier this month, Mr. Shivtare, former two-term MLA from Purandar (one of six Assembly segments in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency), had launched a tirade against the Pawar clan, especially Ajit Pawar, who caused his defeat in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election.
