'I Support Supriya, Brother Backs Sunetra': Divided Pawars Divide Baramati

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

"There are families where the son is siding with dada (Ajit Pawar) and the father is with saheb (Sharad Pawar). The differences aren't only in the Pawar family," said Swapnil Kate (40), a resident of Katewadi village in Mahrashtra's Baramati.

About 15 kms from Baramati city, Katewadi is the ancestral village of Sharad Pawar.

Swapnil, a staunch supporter of Sharad Pawar and MP Supriya Sule, had just returned after anchoring an event in a nearby village where Sharad Pawar's grandnephew and MLA Rohit Pawar was the chief guest.

Swapnil's cousin Milind Kate (42), the deputy sarpanch of Katewadi, meanwhile, stands with Ajit Pawar's wife and now Supriya's rival Sunetra.

"Katewadi is standing with Sunetra vahini. The development you see in the village is because of Ajit dada and Sunetra vahini. Hence, we are supporting them," Milind said.

For five decades, Katewadi has never voted for a Lok Sabha candidate who is not a Pawar. But for the first time, the village is split between voting for two Pawars.

The dominance of the Pawars on Baramati began 57 years ago when Sharad Pawar first became an MLA from the Baramati Assembly seat which he held undefeated till 1990. Since 1991, the seat is being held by his nephew and now rival Ajit Pawar.

Sharad Pawar held the Lok Sabha seat first in 1991, then from 1996 to 2004, eventually passing the reins to daughter Supriya who's the incumbent MP.

But like Katewadi, most families, villages, and administration in Baramati is now caught in the 'tai vs vahini' battle.

Divided We Stand

The Pawar family is clearly divided. While Ajit Pawar and his family are on one side, all the other Pawars are standing by Sharad Pawar and Sule.

Though she stayed away from active politics and has often expressed her unwillingness to jump into the political ring in the past, Sunetra was very much a household name way before her candidacy due to her social work.

Residents of Katewadi, for instance, credit her for their village being an 'adarsh gram' that has won several accolades over the years for being a self-sustainable eco village.

"In 2001, Sunetra Pawar started the development work in Katewadi. There wasn't a single toilet here. Now we have toilets in every house. We have cement roads, underground drainage, 15,000-20,000 trees have been planted," said Milind.

Swapnil, meanwhile, has a different perspective if not an opposite one.

"Even if Sunetra worked for development, the work was started by Sharad Pawar. He has always had a close eye on everything. There are no two ways about the fact that Ajit dada has worked for development. But the seeds for all that work were sown by saheb. This was not the time to leave saheb, it was important to stand by him. Dada decided to leave, that's alright. But the people stand with Sharad Pawar," he said.

But despite being on opposite sides, both Milind and Swapnil echoed the same view like scores of Pawar loyalists across Baramati: "Nothing will make us happier than the Pawar family coming together."

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A War for Legacy: Personal & Political

Be it a supporter of Sharad Pawar or Ajit Pawar, there's common consensus on one fact - Ajit Pawar developed Baramati.

But as the campaign proceeds, the battle between the Pawars has become uglier with personal remarks, allegations, and relentless lobbying for votes by both sides.

Be it sugar factories, agricultural bodies, local bodies, or administrative bodies, Pawars have made appointments at several official posts for years. Most of these organisations now stand conflicted in the legacy war between the Pawars.

While supporters of Ajit and Sunetra are now driving the narrative - 'It was all Ajit dada, Supriya tai did nothing.' In several speeches, Ajit Pawar has openly been accusing 'Vidyaman Khasdaar' (incumbent MP Supriya Sule) of taking credit for development works claimed to be funded and engineered by him.

Auto-rickshaws campaigning at strategic points in Baramati for Sunetra blare audio messages and campaign songs calling Ajit Pawar the 'Baramati cha Shilpkaar, Ajit Pawar!' (Ajit Pawar, the architect of Baramati) and 'Ab ki baar, Sunetra Pawar!'

The vehicles playing Supriya's campaign songs, meanwhile, refer to her as 'Tai aapli, hakkachi!' (Our sister, by right) and 'Sansad Maharatna' (the title of the best Parliamentarian awards).

Sule's camp has been claiming that pressure tactic are being used by Ajit's 'gangs' on those standing by her.

"These are two-three types of gangs. First there are those gang who are in villages or rural areas. The contractors who were given jobs, who have money, cars, bungalows. Second is the one which works in the cities, the criminal-minded people who are calling voters and threatening them into campaigning for Ajit dada instead of Supriya tai. This gang says that if you want to stay in my area, you will not be able to campaign for Supriya tai," Rohit Pawar told The Quint in a conversation on 'Badi Badi Baatein'.

Both tai and vahini have significant clout that cannot be ignored.

• For Supriya, what works is her legacy as an astute Parliamentarian, her stamp on the development of Baramati as an MP, the backing of Sharad Pawar, and her ground connect with the voters.

• For Sunetra, it's the entire NCP machinery that sided with Ajit when the party split last year, now the backing of the local BJP machinery, two decades of social work across several villages, and her own ground connect with the voters.

But for scores of loyal Pawar voters in Baramati, this election seems to be about one issue - to seal the legacy of one Pawar as the real NCP.

Saheb vs Dada, Tai vs Vahini

Interestingly, most people across villages are reluctant to speak to the media and don't openly want to be seen taking sides.

But for those vocal about their views, this election is about one issue - to seal the legacy of one Pawar as the 'real NCP'.

Most supporters of Ajit Pawar said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or PM Narendra Modi must not hold any rally in Baramati as it would only add up to the sympathy for Sharad Pawar and make it more of a 'Modi vs Pawar' contest.

PM Modi, however, shared stage with Sunetra Pawar on 30 April in Pune, where he took a jibe at Sharad Pawar calling him a "wandering soul whose desires are never fulfilled."

"Only Sharad Pawar can compete with Modi, nobody else has the strength to. The BJP is targeting Sharad Pawar and hence we stand by him. The party broke because the BJP broke their home. They broke homes so that Baramati suffers. Hence, we are supporting Sharad Pawar," Mahadev Bondwe, a farmer supporting Sule said.

Tushar Bhosale, working president of the Supa Pargana unit of the NCP, said that this election was about breaking families.

"A sister trusted her brother. What did Amit Shah do to families? He broke families, he broke parties, he broke NCP, he broke Shiv Sena. But he could not break the people. The people are with Supriya tai and Sharad Pawar," he said.

Balkrishna Kate (60) from Katewadi, meanwhile, said that it is Ajit dada's connect with every household ehich makes him support Sunetra.

"Supriya tai was more focussed on the Parliament in Delhi, didn't consult much with our village. Dada and vahini are connected to every person here. Hence, we will vote for vahini. Who to vote for is our personal choice. He (Sharad Pawar) will of course insist that we vote for his daufgter but nobody can change our hearts. We respect Pawar saheb a lot but this time, we will vote for vahini."

While most loyal Pawar family voters are vocally against the split in the party, both sides believe that the Pawar that wins this election will settle the debate on 'real NCP'.

"This is politics. What happened in Mahabharat? They fought against their father, fought against their own relatives, the same continues. If it happened in Satyug, it will happen in Kalyug," Balkrishna said.

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(On ground collaboration: Dnyaneshwar Rayate)