Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 05:15 PM IST
PM Modi may address rally in Sharad Pawar’s hometown
The BJP has fielded Kanchan Kul to take on the sitting NCP MP Supriya Sule, daughter of Mr Pawar, in the Baramati seat.
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a rally in Baramati, the hometown of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to win Pawar family’s bastion for the first time. The rally is likely to be held on April 10 or 11, said sources from BJP.
The BJP has fielded Kanchan Kul, wife of sitting legislator Rahul Kul, to take on the sitting NCP MP Supriya Sule, daughter of Mr Pawar, in the Baramati seat.
According to party sources, Ms Kul has been receiving good response in areas such as Khadakwasla, Daund, Purandar etc. in the Baramati constituency. If the Prime Minister holds a rally, her chances of winning the seat will get further boost, said sources. The rally will also give Mr Modi an opportunity to target Mr Pawar on his home turf, they said.
“We are will definitely hold Modiji’s rally in Baramati. We have planned at least two rallies of Mr Modi each in the four phases of Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. Baramati is one of the venues,” said a senior BJP minister.
Mr Modi and Mr Pawar have been engaged in a verbal duel against each other during this election campaign. Speaking at a rally in Gondia on Wednesday, Mr Modi had said that the NCP leaders ‘were unable to sleep’ as their ‘sleep was jailed in Delhi’s Tihar’. He was apparently referring to the jailed corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar. Mr Pawar had later hit back at Mr Modi, saying he did not heed criticism from ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry’.
In Baramati, the BJP’s candidate is contesting on a lotus symbol this time, as against 2014 polls, when the alliance partner Mahadev Jankar had contested on his party, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), symbol. The BJP has denied a ticket to Mr Jankar this time, as he refused to contest on its symbol.
During 2014 polls, Mr Modi had held a rally in Baramati for Mr Jankar. In his speech, he had criticised the Congress-NCP combine for failing to provide reservation to Dhangar community, which have a sizeable presence in Baramati.
