Baramati election results: Ajit Pawar wins seat, defeats cousin by over 1 lakh votes | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar on Saturday scored a decisive victory in his traditional constituency of Baramati Assembly, defeating his cousin Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction defeated by a margin of over 1 lakh votes.
Although Sharad Pawar was not directly involved in the battle, the battle was widely seen as a battle for supremacy between the two factions of the NCP.
This victory not only marked Ajit Pawar’s eighth consecutive term in office, but also symbolized a major shift in the political dynamics within the Pawar family, with Ajit causing the first-ever defeat in this family bastion.
65-year-old Ajit, who parted ways with his uncle Sharad Pawar last year, polled 1,81,132 votes compared to Yugendra’s 80,233 votes, defeating the 83-year-old veteran leader’s hand-picked candidate by 1,00,899 votes .
The Baramati Assembly elections It was a high-stakes contest just five months after the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) emerged victorious in the Lok Sabha elections in the same constituency. Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule had gone on to defeat Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes.
Both factions left no stone unturned during the campaign. Sharad Pawar and his family, including his wife Pratibha and Sule’s daughter Revati, campaigned extensively for Yugendra. On the other hand, Ajit Pawar, who highlighted his developmental achievements, brought his mother on stage at his closing rally, warning voters not to fall for an “emotional pitch” from the senior Pawar.
Ajit Pawar’s victory strengthens his claim as the political heir of his uncle, who founded the NCP in 1999. The split in 2023 saw Ajit join the BJP-Shiv Sena government and secure the name and symbol of the NCP from the Election Commission, forcing Sharad Pawar’s faction to rename itself as NCP (SP) with a new symbol, “Man Blowing Turha.”
After his victory, Ajit Pawar expressed his gratitude to the voters and promised to focus on development. “Our victory today puts a heavy burden on our shoulders because of the enormous responsibilities that the people of Maharashtra have placed on us for the next five years. We will not spend a single moment in speaking out against anyone just for the development of Maharashtra and the well-being of its people,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).