PUNE: Now that the battle lines are drawn in the NCP, a victory in the Lok Sabha election next year from Baramati could be tough for Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, a three-time member of Parliament.The split in the NCP with her cousin Ajit leading one faction and her father the other, and their strained ties could affect her prospects now."I am confident that people will appreciate my work.Voters are the real bosses in a democracy.
So, I will reach out to them," Sule told TOI.She said she has carried out a number of development projects in the constituency and her performance has received recognition from Parliament and from various agencies and she has been honoured for her work.One of the biggest LS constituencies in the state, Baramati has over six lakh voters in a mix of urban and rural populations.Of the six MLAs representing it, only two are from NCP, one is Ajit Pawar and the other is Indapur MLA Dattatraya Bharane.03:42Sharad Pawar on Ajit Pawar's meeting: 'Those using my image are aware that they have nothing else'Khadakwalsa's Bhimrao Tapkir and Daund's Rahul Kul are from the BJP.
The other two are Congressmen Sanjay Jagtap in Purandar and Sangram Thopte in Bhor.Kul said that BJP has already started preparing the ground against the NCP in Baramati.
The change of guard at the state will strengthen their efforts, he added.
"We are working at the booth level.
Our party will focus on speeding up stalled development works in the constituency.
People will vote in our party's favour," he said.Baramati has been Sharad Pawar's bastion for decades.
He had represented it six times since 1984.
Sule won the seat in 2019, polling 1.56 lakh more votes against the BJP candidate.
She had won it in 2014 and 2009.
Of late, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman and state unit chief of BJP Chandrashekhar Bawankule have given special attention to Baramati constituency.
If the Ajit Pawar camp, which currently appears to be against Sule, decides not to support her in the 2024 polls, securing a victory will be a challenge.Though Congress is NCP's partner in Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Jagtap and Thopte have been political opponents of Sharad Pawar, adding to Sule's worries.
In his press conference on Sunday, hours after his nephew's rebellion, the NCP chief, said the split will not hamper family relationships.
"Our party has split, but the family is not divided," he said, while replying to a query about his nephew Ajit Pawar.
Pawar had ruled out the possibility that Sule was getting elected from the constituency due to the family legacy.
"People would not have elected her three times if she had not performed well.
Voters have seen her work," he said.