Mumbai: Senior Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut has predicted a defeat for the NCP chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls in Maharashtra.
“Ajit Pawar will definitely lose the assembly elections from Baramati and he is also aware of it,” Raut said on Monday.
The Sena (UBT) leader’s comments came after Ajit Pawar said the people of Baramati should get an MLA other than him so that they can then make a comparison between him and the new legislator.
Ajit Pawar had also recently admitted publicly that he had made a mistake by fielding his wife Sunetra against his cousin and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, the daughter of his uncle Sharad Pawar, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said politics should not enter the home.
Asked about the deputy CM’s comments, Raut said, “There is no point in repenting about what he did to his uncle Sharad Pawar and his party. Ajit Pawar will definitely lose the Baramati seat.”
“Ajit Pawar engineered a split in the NCP and within the Pawar family. He even took away his (Sharad Pawar’s) party and symbol. He backstabbed his uncle, who used to be a father-like figure for him,” the Sena (UBT) leader said.
Still smarting under Sunetra’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Ajit Pawar has hinted that he may opt out of the electoral fray from Baramati.
“I have done everything possible for Baramati’s development. Despite this, if voters decide to elect a different MP in the Lok Sabha elections, I too am human and have feelings. So, you should also elect a different MLA in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections so that you could make comparisons,” he had said on Sunday.
Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state last year along with some other NCP leaders, leading to a split in the party founded by Sharad Pawar.
The NCP chief has been MLA from Baramati since 1991. In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls, he won against BJP’s Gopichand Padalkar with a record margin of 1.65 lakh votes.