Three-time MP Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party(SP) from Maharashtra’s Baramati constituency won again by a margin of 1,58,333 votes against her cousin's wife, NCP's Sunetra Pawar, according to ECI.
This marks the first time that two members of the influential Pawar family are contested against each other from the constituency, which went to polls on May 7 and recorded a voter turnout of 59.50%.
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In 2019, Sule defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kanchan Rahul Kool with a vote margin of 11.94%. She secured 52.63% of the vote share, while Kool received 40.69%.
Sule was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2006, followed by three consecutive terms in 2009, 2014, and 2019 as a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha. Her father, Sharad Pawar, also won Lok Sabha polls from the Baramati constituency held in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2004. He first won the seat in 1984 on an Indian Congress (Socialist) ticket.
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{{/usCountry}}The split within the NCP occurred in July 2023, following a rebellion led by the Ajit Pawar group, which has currently given its support to the ruling Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra.
In February this year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognised the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP as the official party and granted them the party’s iconic ‘clock’ symbol while allotting Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) as the party name for the group led by Sharad Pawar, which launched its new symbol of a ‘man blowing a tura (trumpet)’.
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In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Sule reached out to people by conducting door-to-door padayatra and corner meetings, while her father held rallies across the Baramati region.
On the other side, Ajit Pawar and his wife, Sunetra Pawar, campaigned with the message of “bringing a change in Baramati”.
Supriya Sule is also credited with playing a key role in coordinating with opposition parties regarding seat sharing within the INDIA bloc in Maharashtra. The bloc was formed in July last year to dislodge the Narendra Modi-led BJP at the Centre.
The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were conducted in seven phases, starting from April 19. The Bharatiya Janata Party is aiming for a rare third consecutive term at the Centre, with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.