Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar not to contest Assembly polls? Hints at passing Baramati seat to son Jay

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Thursday expressed his lack of interest in contesting the upcoming Assembly election from the Baramati constituency and hinted that his son Jay Pawar might replace him at the Assembly seat.

The NCP leader, who is currently on a state-wide 'Jan Samman Yatra' to promote schemes launched by the state government, said that it was for his party to decide whether his son, Jay, would contest in his place from the Baramati Assembly constituency.

"It's democracy. I am not much interested in it because I have been part of 7-8 elections. If people and party workers think in such a way, then the parliamentary board should think about it. If the parliamentary board and the local party workers want it then we are ready to do it," the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said.

It is important to note that the Baramati Assembly seat is considered a stronghold for Ajit Pawar as the NCP leader was re-elected from the Assembly constituency in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said that he made a huge mistake by fielding his wife, Sunetra Pawar, against his cousin Supriya Sule from Baramati in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister told Marathi news channel Jai Maharashtra in an interview that one should not allow politics to enter one's home.

"I love all my sisters. One shouldn't allow politics to enter homes. I made a mistake in fielding Sunetra against my sister. This shouldn't have happened. But the parliamentary board (of NCP) made a decision. Now I feel it was wrong," Pawar said.

In the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, the NCP—part of the ruling Mahayuti Alliance—fielded Sunetra Pawar against the NCP(SP) president's daughter, Supriya Sule, from Baramati. Sule defeated Sunetra by 1.5 lakh votes. She won the Baramati seat for the fourth successive time with a vote share of 51.85%. However, Sunetra was later elected to the Rajya Sabha.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) stunned the ruling Mahayuti Alliance in Maharashtra by winning 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP won just one seat, Raigad, while the Sharad Pawar faction bagged eight.