Mumbai:
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar blew the election horn against Baramati MP Supriya Sule and hinted that he would field a candidate against his cousin in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The Baramati Lok Sabha segment has traditionally been a bastion of Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, but Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced his intention to field a candidate against her.
Ajit Pawar also said that only if his candidate wins from Supriya Sule will he contest the Assembly elections from Baramati and urged the voters to vote for the development of the constituency.
Ajit Pawar said he would field a candidate who has not contested an election before, but that person would get the support of people with vast experience.
“Since the formation of the state of Maharashtra and the commencement of elections till now, it has never happened in Baramati that the deposit of an opposition candidate has not been forfeited. And I am proud of it,” Mr. Pawar said.
He further urged the people to show their love and said, “People will come to you and ask for your vote on emotional issues, but it is up to you to decide whether you will vote on emotional grounds or whether you want to continue the development work and for well-being. of your future generations.”
In a veiled attack on Supriya Sule, he said, “Those who work will definitely face accusations. Those who don't work will undoubtedly remain clean.”
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar on Thursday backed his decision to declare the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NCP, saying that no position taken in the decision is 'unconstitutional' or 'arbitrary'.
A day after taking the decision, Rahul Narwekar while interacting with the media said, “This decision is very clear. A copy of the decision has been provided to the parties. No position in this decision is unconstitutional or arbitrary. The position is justified. Reasons for this have been given. So I don't think it is necessary to further analyze such a tenable and justified decision.'
However, the Maharashtra speaker's decision was criticized by the UBT faction of the Shiv Sena and called it a comedy show.
Earlier, the Election Commission also awarded the party name and symbol to the Ajit Pawar-led faction.
Mr Narwekar opined that Ajit Pawar's claim about vote share is not disputed by the Sharad Pawar faction and the issue of legislative majority is also undisputed.
Mr Narwekar further rejected the pleas of Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions to disqualify MLAs after a vertical split in the party in June 2023.
On February 6, the Election Commission, while applying the majority test in the legislative wing, ruled that Ajit Pawar's faction was the real NCP and allowed the faction to use the 'bell' symbol for the party.
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