Ajit Pawar is all set to pip his nephew Yugendra Yadav in the high-profile family battle in Baramati as the latest trends show that the deputy chief minister is leading by a margin of over 15,000 votes.
Ajit Pawar has been representing Baramati in the state assembly since 1991 and is seeking his eighth straight term as a legislator.
The high-decibel campaign had witnessed Ajit Pawar's development pitch encountering his rival faction’s chief and NCP founder Sharad Pawar's emotional hold over voters.
#WATCH | Baramati, Maharashtra: Supporters of Maharashtra Deputy CM & NCP Candidate from Baramati Assembly Ajit Pawar burst crackers as Ajit Pawar is leading with 15,382 votes ss per the official EC trends.
— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2024
Mahayuti has crossed the majority mark of 145 seats in the state. (BJP… pic.twitter.com/sPTHWCva8p
Yugendra Yadav, a young entrant in electoral politics, is Sharad Pawar’s grand nephew and son of Ajit Pawar’s younger brother Shriniwas.
The contest was on kine-edge as this was the first assembly elections after the NCP suffered the vertical split last year. War of words, blame games and mudslinging marked the high-octane campaign. On the eve of the voting, Yugendra’s mother Sharmila Pawar alleged intimidation and malpractices by workers of Ajit Pawar’s party.
In the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, Ajit Pawar fielded his wife Sunetra Pawar from Baramati parliamentary seat against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.
Sule defeated Sunetra Pawar comfortably and since then Ajit Pawar has often said fielding his wife against his cousin was a mistake.
The counting began at 8 am. The Maharashtra elections, held in a single phase on Wednesday, saw a voter turnout of 66 per cent, surpassing the 61 per cent recorded in 2021.
