Pune: NCP (SP) MLA and Sharad Pawar‘s grandnephew Rohit Pawar on Wednesday participated in a poll campaign for his aunt and NCP chief Sunetra Pawar in Baramati. Though her son Jay has also been campaigning in Baramati, Rohit held meetings independently without joining his cousin. Jay said he was happy about Rohit campaigning for his mother. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Rohit had campaigned for his aunt Supriya Sule against Sunetra for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. He had also campaigned aggressively against late Ajit Pawar during the assembly poll.On Wednesday, Rohit said that he has joined the campaign for his late uncle. “I am campaigning in Baramati not as an MLA but as Ajit Pawar’s nephew. Sunetra kaki has already won the election but the Pawar family’s efforts will be to ensure she wins the seat by the highest-ever margin,” Rohit said. Rohit and Jay did not hold any meeting or rally together on Wednesday. “Jay is campaigning as a representative of his party and I am campaigning as a family member. Since we both are campaigning in different areas of the constituency, we can cover more areas,” Rohit said. Jay said, “In the last (Lok Sabha and assembly) election, Rohit campaigned for the other NCP group but it feels nice that he is campaigning for my mother. We are both currently campaigning in different parts of Baramati. If our schedule works out, we may address some meetings together.” After the bypolls were announced by the Election Commission of India, the NCP (SP) immediately declared that it will not contest the seat. While its MVA ally Congress fielded a candidate, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and its Baramati MP Supriya Sule, along with Rohit, convinced the party to withdraw its candidate against Sunetra. However, Sharad Pawar and Supriya have stayed away from the campaign so far. On whether Sharad Pawar would join the campaign, Rohit said, “Pawar Saheb decided not to put up a candidate in Baramati and he also convinced Congress to withdraw from the contest. He has already played a key role and supported Sunetra kaki. As head of the Pawar family, he has already fulfilled his responsibility.”The voting for the bypoll will be on April 23 and Rohit is expected to be in Baramati for three to four days to campaign for Sunetra.
