Baramati contest is all about fight between Modi and Rahul, not between Pawars: Fadnavis

“If anyone gets elected here, the person is not going to bring a big change in the country but it’s a fight to elect a person who will support the change being brought through the development work of Modi in the country,” Fadnavis said.

It is not a fight against Sharad Pawar. So, the voters of Baramati have to decide whether their MP is going to walk along with the development path of Modi or that of the mentality of Rahul Gandhi which is against society and derailing the development agenda of the country.” (File/ Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)

With just a month left for polling, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have decided to get into campaign mode in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency and energise their respective party cadres in favour of Sunetra Pawar of NCP, who is contesting against sitting MP Supriya Sule of NCP (SP). In his first rally in Indapur in Baramati on Friday, Fadnavis urged party cadre not to look at the contest in Baramati as a fight between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar or between Sunetra Pawar and Supriya Sule. It is a fight between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, he said.

“If anyone gets elected here, the person is not going to bring a big change in the country but it’s a fight to elect a person who will support the change being brought through the development work of Modi in the country,” he said. Fadnavis’s rally was after a month-long public campaign from party leader Harshwardhan Patil against Ajit Pawar-led NCP for the treatment meted out to BJP cadre in the region.

“The decisions or reforms taken by Modi were historical, but all the decisions were opposed by Sule,” Fadnavis said. “Every decision of Modi was opposed by Sule in Parliament including that of scrapping Article 370 in Kashmir.

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“I will come again and speak in detail. We have to work for big objectives. Whatever has happened in the past has to be forgotten. We have to work for Modiji and Mahayuti. If the Mahayuti candidate wins from here, then she will stand by Modiji. We want to see the Baramati MP standing along with Modiji,” Fadnavis said.

I have understood your concerns and assure to resolve them, the BJP leader said. “It was obvious that there was confusion among cadre on how to work with rivals against whom they have been fighting for ages. I know you will not be comfortable but has to work for progress of the country through Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If they are accepting our development agenda and accepting leadership of Modi, then we should absorb them in the larger interest.”

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also decided to address Shiv Sena workers in Baramati constituency to work for the victory of Sunetra Pawar. Sena leader Vijay Shivtare too had publicly declared that he won’t be working for Pawar and instead contest the seat as Independent. However, he later gave up his opposition on the request of Shinde.

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

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