'The reason I am not anxious about the opponent facing me in the front (Ajit Pawar) is because of who is standing behind me like a rock (Sharad Pawar).'
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) supremo Sharad Pawar sprung a surprise by fielding grandnephew Yugendra Pawar against Ajit Pawar in Baramati, the family stronghold that has elected Ajit Pawar to the Maharashtra assembly since 1991.
Yugendra's father Shrinivas Pawar is Ajit Pawar's brother.
Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar and split his party to walk out with 35 out of 53 MLAs in June 2023.
Worse, Ajit Pawar retained the Nationalist Congress Party name and the Election Commission also granted him the Clock, the party's election symbol.
Sharad Pawar has since got a new election symbol, a man blowing the tootari, a Maharashtrian version of the trumpet.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com caught up with Yugendra Pawar on the campaign trail in Baramati and asked him hot it felt to take on his kaka (as father's brother is called in Maharashta) in an election.
What we see in Baramati city and rural areas is an eyeopener, about how the fruits of development have not reached the villages. Did you feel so in your campaign considering the fact you are contesting for the first time?
Yes, I have witnessed this as there is a huge difference in the development of Baramati city and rural areas.
Unfortunately, the focus of development was not the villages of Baramati, but the city.
Today, the population of Baramati is 375,000 out of which only 90,000 people reside in the city. The development of Baramati city is important but equally important is the development of the rural areas of Baramati. It is here that most of the population lives.
You are taking on Ajit Pawar, your uncle. Are you feeling anxious about the contest?
The uncle part is sad because this is what it has come to.
The reason I am not anxious about the opponent facing me in the front (Ajit Pawar) is because of who is standing behind me like a rock (Sharad Pawar).
I am therefore confident I will emerge victorious.
You have been highlighting in your speeches that although Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule won the Lok Sabha election in Baramari against your aunt Sunetra Pawar by 150,000 votes your supporters must not take that victory for granted.
Do you feel the Ajit Pawar camp became overconfident in the Lok Sabha elections?
It will be wrong to comment on their party or their party strategy.
I was highlighting to my supporters that it is important to reach out to our voters.
I am trying to explain to them that just because we won the Lok Sabha elections does not ensure victory in the Baramati assembly seat.
We cannot be complacent.
What is the problem between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar? Can you share something about it from your viewpoint?
Ideology is an issue. Pawar Saheb groomed Ajit Pawar in politics and to leave Pawar Saheb at this age is not right.
He is the patriarch of our family. Indian culture does not permit this as it says that when our parents get old the children must stand by them.
After the Shiv Sena broke up it was evident that the BJP would try to break the NCP so was it better that Ajit Pawar broke the party rather than someone else? This way the party remains with the Pawars.
It is not right (what he did). You need to have faith in your people. You have to trust in your people.
He always got important posts because he was always trusted by Sharad Pawar. He needed to retain that trust.
He is now blaming Sharad Pawar for everything that went wrong with the party.
Again, this is not right as we live in a democracy and a civilised society with civilised people in our party.
We can always sit across the table and talk rather than shaming and blaming Sharad Pawar.
Surpiya Sule won by more than 158,000 votes against Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar's wife. Does this give you hope that you too will do well against Ajit Pawar?
This increases my confidence for sure but you can't take people for granted. You need to reach out to people and solve their problems. This is a constant job.
You cannot sit at home and expect that people will support you all the time.
If you start flying too high in politics without groundwork or knowing the ground realities you will make mistakes and fall.
When Sharad Pawar told you to contest the elections against Ajit Pawar what was your reaction?
I said okay.
Did you always want to be in politics?
No, I didn't plan to be in politics. Sharad Pawar Saheb is my guru, role model, idol, mentor or whatever you call him. I always looked up to him as a child.
If Pawar Saheb tells me to jump in a well I can do that too for him.
I have immense faith in him and I know he will not let me do something which is not good for me or my future.
He has never done that in the past. I have immense faith in and I do what he says.
Why was Pawar Saheb not able to solve the water problems for almost 25 villages in Baramati district?
This is a drought prone area and whatever (excess) water you see in Baramati city or around was brought by him or his policies.
You need to take into account that population too has increased maniold in the last two decades.
Cattle population too is increasing.
People too shift their crops from drought resistant crops to water consuming crops. These things lead to water shortage problems.
These villages where water has not reached, the current leadership (Ajit Pawar) didn't do work. 80 percent of the water problem of Baramati rural areas was solved by Pawar Saheb but the remaining 20 percent problem was not solved by the current leadership.
You are countering the Laadki Bahin Yojana scheme, which gives Rs 1,500 to every woman, by increasing that amount to Rs 3,000, which is bad economics that can lead to the state's bankruptcy, isn't it?
I am a small karyakarta who is doing the role of a messenger of my party. I am only conveying the message of my top leadership to the people of Baramati.
Do you meet Ajit Pawar socially?
Our family tradition has been of following different political parties and ideology for decades now.
It goes back to Shardabai Pawar, Sharad Pawar's mother. She was a member of the Peasants and Workers Party.
She was the only woman on the Pune local board in the early 1960s. She had Leftist ideology but allowed her son Sharad Pawar to have a different ideology and join the Congress party.
She was a very enlightened woman and allowed her son to have his own thoughts.
In those days this was quite commendable to allow something like this.
Pawar Saheb and his mother used to discuss other ideologies.
Why is Hindutva politics a strict no for you or Sharad Pawar?
It is because I don't like divide and rule politics.
I feel everything is created by humans and whatever we see today is made by them. However, in the eyes of God we are all the same.
The beauty of India at large is that we have so many different cultures. On Eid you get to eat sheerkurma or biryani whereas in Diwali you get to have karanji and chakli and on Christmas you get to eat good cakes. This is what makes us different from the rest of the world.
I have all sorts of friends and I do not believe in the BJP's 'katenge toh batenge' ideology.
