On the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly elections Monday, Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar will take centre stage in Baramati like they did during the Lok Sabha poll. On his part, Yugendra Pawar, the first-timer on the poll turf in the family bastion, sounded confident of winning the seat but a little anxious about the outcome. While Sharad Pawar will address a rally at Lendi Patti ground, which he has been doing so for years now, Ajit Pawar will hold his rally a couple of kilometres away at Mission School ground. Sharad Pawar's rally is likely to see his aggressive avatar after he gave indications Sunday that he had pressed the top gear. Speaking at Temburne in Solapur district, Pawar said, “We should not forgive those who deviated from the path. They should be given a befitting reply,” he said, drawing applause from the audience which seemed to have understood that the tone was directed towards Ajit Pawar. On the other hand, Ajit Pawar has refused to attack Sharad Pawar directly. On Sunday, while speaking in Baramati, he said he had not left Sharad Pawar and joined hands with the BJP-led Mahayuti because the party MLAs wanted it that way. A big ask Yugendra Pawar, who is contesting against his uncle Ajit Pawar, talked about his “first experience where I am contesting the election”. “Like every newcomer on the poll turf, I am also a little anxious. Like it happens to everyone before the exams, I am also going through the same feelings,” he told The Indian Express Monday morning. Yugendra, who will address the big rally along with his granduncle Sharad Pawar, said, “I had earlier addressed the rally in front of him when the campaigning started at Kanheri. I am not nervous. But yes, it will be a much bigger rally and it will concern my fate in the election. It will be a big occasion for me,” he said. Of the seven times he has won from the Baramati Assembly seat, Ajit Pawar created a record in Maharashtra when he won by a margin of 1.67 lakh votes. Yugendra faces the tough task of bringing down the margin and overwhelming it. Asked whether he was confident of defeating Ajit Pawar, who has won the Baramati seat seven consecutive times, Yugendra said, “Yes, of course. Big leaders have lost on poll turf to first-timers. Our poll history is replete with such instances. I am confident I will win the Baramati seat. This is because of the response I was getting everywhere I went. People were receptive to me and my ideas. They were too eager to interact with me and place their demands. Their demands primarily relate to water, good roads and reasonable prices for farm produce”. Throughout the campaigning, Yugendra avoided taking the name of his uncle and criticising him. “I highlighted the positive things, I highlighted my vision of development, and how I will address the issues facing the voters,” he said. ‘Young nephew against ageing uncle’ Yugendra, the son of Ajit Pawar’s elder brother Sriniwas Pawar, said there were 117 villages in Baramati and he has toured them four to five times. “Once I went around during the Lok Sabha elections and now four times during this Assembly polls. I have been in touch with the voters and have struck a good rapport with them. I have been interacting with them on one to one basis,'' said Yugendra. Yugendra said water will remain his top priority. “Baramati is facing a serious water problem. Not just in rural areas, including the 22 villages in the dry zone where the situation was grave, even in city areas, there are several pockets which face water shortage,” he said. Though Yugendra said he is making all efforts to win the seat, he has been seen seeking votes in the name of Sharad Pawar, who had never lost an election from Baramati. While interacting with voters or holding corner meetings, Yugendra emphasised that it was Sharad Pawar who had brought development to Baramati and after his exit from poll turf, the development pace of Baramati has slowed down. Without naming, Ajit Pawar he said not much has happened in Baramati in the last several years. “Pawar Saheb set up the Baramati MIDC area. Several industrial units came up after he set it up. However, after that not a single industrial unit has come up in the last few years,” he said. The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) is confident Yugendra Pawar will win the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections. “Supriya Sule was leading by 48,000 votes in Baramati Assembly seat during the Baramati Lok Sabha election. This means the margin has already been brought down and overwhelmed. And, therefore, we are confident young Yugendra will outsmart his ageing uncle Ajit Pawar,” said NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase.
