All hell breaks loose when the candidate arrives. Crackers go off, the singers switch to a song praising Pawar and leaders dive at his feet.

The Maratha chieftain is recovering from serious jaw surgery, but he appears in combative mood. Not only does he take on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his speech, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray comes in for special treatment too.

It will take a miracle for Pawar to lose in Baramati, but what is to be seen is if the people will beat the heat and complacency to take him to victory with the kind of margins he is used to.