Pune: Deputy Chief Minister and NCP (AP) President Ajit Pawar may have challenged his erstwhile mentor and NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar in Baramati. However, he failed to bargain even within the Maha Yuti while claiming his share of seats for the Lok Sabha. This indicates his stature within the Maha Yuti.
On the contrary, Sharad Pawar has got 10 seats within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) out of the 48 seats. In all 10 seats, except one, the NCP (SP) has fielded its own candidates. However, Ajit Pawar could not even find candidates from his own party while taking on the senior Pawar.
Ajit Pawar has got only four seats out of 48 in the Maha Yuti. Out of which his wife Sunetra Pawar is fighting from Baramati. Sunil Tatkare has been fielded from Raigad. In the remaining two constituencies, he had to import candidates from the Shiv Sena (BT) and the BJP.
There is a talk in political circles that Ajit Pawar had a tough time winning seats for his party in the Maha Yuti. He could not find a candidate in Shirur as the sitting MP, Dr Amol Kolhe, has remained with the Sharad Pawar faction. So, he imported Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil from the SS (BT). Thus, Patil got the ticket by joining the NCP (AP).
In Dharashiv too, the NCP (AP) could not find a candidate. A BJP candidate has joined the fray from the NCP (AP) there. In this seat-sharing, Ajit Pawar has two candidates from his own party while two have been borrowed. There has been no decision on the Nashik seat yet. The SS (BT) MP is showing his strength there. Chhagan Bhujabl has been boasting that he has the backing of Delhi to field an NCP (AP) candidate from Nashik. In this backdrop, if Ajit Pawar fails to get Nashik, then he will have to field four candidates, equal to the number of MPs that the undivided NCP had in 2019.