Sharad Pawar's grandnephew to take on uncle Ajit in Baramati

The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) has announced the candidature of Yugendra Pawar against his uncle and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from Baramati in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

In Short

• Baramati seat to see fierce uncle-nephew electoral contest
• Sharad Pawar's party fields Yugendra Pawar from stronghold
• Maharashtra to go to polls in single phase on November 20

The Baramati Assembly seat in Maharashtra is all set for a fierce uncle-nephew electoral contest as Sharad Pawar faction of the National Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday announced the candidature of Yugendra Pawar against his uncle and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Yugendra Pawar, son of Ajit Pawar's younger brother Shrinivas, will go head-to-head with his uncle, marking the second political battle within the family for dominance over their stronghold.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, defeated her sister-in-law and Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar, from Baramati parliamentary constituency in Pune district by a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes.

Yugendra, 32, played a crucial role in Supriya Sule's Lok Sabha campaign in Baramati, and is said to be close to Sharad Pawar. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Northeastern University, Boston.

Yugendra, under the mentorship of Sharad Pawar, has been steadily building his political base, evident in the launch of the Swabhiman Yatra in Baramati in September. He also serves as the Treasurer of Vidya Pratishtan, an educational institute established by Pawar.

In the previous Lok Sabha elections, Yugendra actively campaigned for Supriya Sule, while his father Shrinivas openly criticised Ajit Pawar for deserting Sharad Pawar and aligning with the Mahayuti government alongside other NCP leaders.

Days ago, Yugendra said that the people of Baramati, including himself, are loyal to Sharad Pawar, and he couldn't think of deserting his grandfather. "Pawar saheb and people will decide whether I should go to the state assembly," he told a Marathi news portal.

Other key candidates named in the NCP (SP) list released earlier today included its state chief Jayant Patil (Islampur), Jitendra Awhad (Mumbra-Kalwa), Anil Deshmukh (Katol), Harshvardhan Patil (Indapur) and late R R Patil's son Rohit Patil who is making a debut (Tasgaon-Kavthemahankal).

Maharashtra will go to polls in a single phase on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.