Three-term Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule and her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed their nominations for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra’s Pune district on the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and NCP tickets, respectively.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, husband of Sunetra Pawar, also filed a set of nomination papers for the seat, which an NCP functionary described as a backup plan in case Sunetra Pawar’s nomination does not stand scrutiny or any discrepancy is found in it.
Polling in Baramati, a pocket borough of the Pawars, will be held on May 7.
Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Vishwajeet Kadam, among others, accompanied Sule, the sitting MP from Baramati and daughter of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar, as she filed the nomination papers before the returning officer at the Council Hall in Pune.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Praful Patel were present when Sunetra Pawar, who is making her poll debut, filed her nomination at the Council Hall later in the day.
Before the filing of her nomination, a campaign rally was held by the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ constituents – Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Shinde, BJP and Ajit Pawar-headed NCP.
Addressing the rally, Shinde said a change is inevitable in Baramati and gave the slogan – “Abki baar, Sunetra Pawar”.
Mr Fadnavis said a new history will be created in Baramati as the “daughter-in-law of Baramati” will go to Delhi.
Sunetra Pawar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done tremendous work and the world has taken note of it.
“Be it infrastructure, building of roads, Chandrayaan, Modiji has been instrumental in doing tremendous work and that is why he is in the minds of the people,” she said.
Praful Patel and Union minister Ramdas Athawale, who heads the Republican Party of India (A) and is a BJP ally, also attended the rally.
Earlier in the day, Sunetra Pawar and Ajit Pawar visited the Dagadusheth Halwai Ganpati temple here and performed ‘aarti’.
Actor-turned-politician Amol Kolhe, the sitting MP and NCP (SP) candidate from Shirur Lok Sabha seat in Pune district, also filed his nomination before the returning officer here.
