Baramati Battle: NCP's Sunetra Pawar To Contest Against Supriya Sule In NCP(SP) Stronghold

Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to field Sunetra Pawar from the Baramati constituency in Maharashtra, a stronghold for Sharad Pawar's party.

Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar's wife, will contest against NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, who was retained by the party for the Baramati constituency. "Supriya Sule and Amol Kolhe have been retained from Baramati and Shirur constituencies, respectively," said state unit NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil while announcing the list.

Expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to contest from Baramati, Sunetra Pawar said, "Today is a momentous day for me. I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar for placing their trust in me..."

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare, who had announced his intention to contest the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate from Maharashtra's Baramati constituency, reversed his decision.

Sharad Pawar had already announced the candidacy of his daughter and three-term Baramati MP, Supriya Sule, from the constituency.

Rumors of a faceoff in Baramati had circulated a month ago, to which Supriya Sule responded, "I seek your votes to send me to Parliament to address your concerns. You cannot elect a person who would remain silent while her husband goes to Parliament and speaks. Do you want such a candidate?"

NCP (SP), a part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, will contest 10 seats in Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha.