In a bid to hit Sharad Pawar where it hurts most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold rallies on Thursday in two bastions of the NCP chief. Modi will be the first prime minister in 34 years to campaign in Baramati, and the first in 30 years to do so in Pimpri-Chinchwad. History has, however, shown how difficult it has been for Pawar’s rivals even when a PM has come down to campaign for them. Kiran Gujar, an aide of Pawar family who has led campaigns for the NCP chief over four decades spoke of the 1980 assembly elections when Pawar was in Congress (S). “I vividly remember that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to campaign for Marutrao Chopde. But, Pawar polled 54,919 votes, twice as many as his rival’s 26,550,” he added. In 1984, then PM Rajiv Gandhi addressed a Lok Sabha poll rally at Sangvi Keshri college grounds in Chinchwad, which was then part of Baramati constituency. Despite the Congress wave in the country in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Pawar had trounced Shankarrao Bajirao Patil of the Congress by nearly 1.4 lakh votes. Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, too, sounded confident. “We are not at all worried. Modi rallies will have no effect on any of the party’s candidates,” she said. Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra, who is leading her husband’s campaign said, “Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar will canvass in Baramati only on the last day of campaigning. Just because Modi is coming, we are not changing our traditional plan,” she said. Gujar added, “In fact, because of Modi rallies, people of Baramati will vote for us in large numbers”. Pawar’s nephew Ajit has been winning in Baramati since 1992 when he first contested the assembly elections. He has also won a Lok Sabha poll. The NCP chief’s daughter Supriya Sule won the Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014. At least 100 members of Pawar’s family are slugging it out daily on the campaign trail in Baramati. Up against them is an enthusiastic BJP. “The rallies in Baramati and Pimpri-Chinchwad have been planned to weaken the hold of NCP, especially Pawars’, in Pune region so that the BJP can find its feet,” said Eknath Pawar, BJP’s Bhosari candidate. “The rally in Pimpri will have effect on Pimpri, Bhosari, Chinchwad, Ambegaon, Junnar, Shirur and Maval seats. The BJP has only one MLA in Maval,” said Eknath Pawar. He said the rally in Baramati will have a cascading effect in three or four nearby constituencies where BJP has no presence. The NCP has been ruling the Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body for more than a decade. The BJP has already inducted Laxman Jagtap, once right-hand man of Ajit Pawar and better known as TDR King of Pune. Jagtap is contesting from Chinchwad seat. Jagtap, who has changed several parties since 1986, said this time he would stick to BJP. Yet another indication of BJP’s bid to capture Pawar bastions emerged on Wednesday when party leaders revealed that a 100-member team of the party, including MPs and MLAs from various states are camping in Pimpri-Chinchwad for past one week. “They have been coordinating the party’s campaign in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Baramati and some other seats,” said Eknath Pawar.
