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Journalism of Courage
Even as the names of Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra and son Parth Pawar have cropped up as possible candidates for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party clarified again on Tuesday that Supriya Sule will be the official candidate for the seat which has been the party’s turf for last four decades. Currently, however, the party faces the prospect of a close contest in the seat in case two members of the Pawar family are in the fray.
”Supriya Sule will be our official candidate from Baramati Lok Sabha seat. Our party president Jayant Patil has already made it clear that Sule will be contesting from Baramati,” Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
Tapase said two days ago, Patil had made it clear that some of the candidates were already finalised. ”One of them is Supriya Sule who will be contesting for the fourth time from the same seat which was vacated by her father in her favour. Sule will not just win from the seat but will win with the biggest margin of victory,” he claimed.
Asked about the possibility of Sunetra Pawar or Parth Pawar being fielded, Tapase said, ”We are not bothered who the Opposition candidate is. We will speak for our candidate who has proven credentials. Our candidate has ensured the development of Baramati and therefore we have no doubt about her victory,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Pune two days ago, Jayant Patil had said that the party has finalised names not just for the Lok Sabha polls but also for the Assembly elections. ”Supriyatai will be contesting from Baramati while Eknath Khadse has also been asked to prepare for contesting the Lok Sabha polls. We will be finalising a name for Satara seat as well,” he had said.
In response, Sule, who is touring Baramati, said on Monday, ”I want to thank the NCP and Jayant Patil for showing faith in me for contesting the Baramati Lok Sabha seat.” Sule has won the seat thrice. Barring once in 2014 when Mahadev Jankar gave her a tough fight, she has won the seat with a comfortable margin.
Meanwhile, Sunil Tatkare, who is the state chief of the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP, said, ”A decision regarding fielding candidates for the Lok Sabha elections will be taken by our leader Ajit Pawar after discussions with senior party leaders.”
