- Sharad Pawar backs his grandnephew Yugendra Pawar in Baramati, signaling a fresh generational shift in leadership.
- Yugendra is positioned as the young, educated face to counter Ajit Pawar’s influence in their family’s stronghold.
- Ajit Pawar accuses his uncle of deepening family divides, urging against further politicizing familial ties.
In a calculated political maneuver, Sharad Pawar has fielded his grandnephew Yugendra Pawar as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate for the Baramati assembly constituency, marking a second “Pawar vs. Pawar” contest within the family. Yugendra, who brings an educational background from abroad and experience in administration and the sugar business, has received a strong endorsement from Sharad Pawar, who praised him as the face of the family’s next generation.
Ajit Pawar, who rebelled and split from the NCP in June 2023 to claim the party leadership, sees this move as divisive. He expressed frustration, recalling the last family standoff in the Lok Sabha elections, when Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule defeated Ajit’s wife Sunetra Pawar in Baramati by over 1.5 lakh votes. Ajit now criticizes Sharad Pawar for “creating a split within the family,” and he has openly urged against dragging family into politics.
Sharad Pawar, however, is confident that the people of Baramati will rally behind Yugendra, embracing the new leadership he represents. As Baramati heads into another high-stakes electoral face-off, the Pawar family feud underscores the broader challenge of balancing political ambition with familial loyalty.
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