Ajit Pawar has said that he does not want Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally as the Baramati contest is in the family.

Ajit Pawar-led NCP is part of the ruling coalition along with BJP and Shiv Sena.

Pune:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said that he has not requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold an election rally in his constituency Baramati as there is an intra-family fight.

Mr. Pawar, the incumbent MLA, is contesting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, a candidate from the rival Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar.

The Prime Minister will hold campaign rallies for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections from Friday.

“Competition in Baramati is within the family,” Ajith told reporters on Thursday when asked why the Prime Minister did not hold a rally in his constituency.

Ajit Pawar-led NCP is part of the ruling coalition along with BJP and Shiv Sena.

Asked whether NCP candidates are also not looking for rallies by senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah in their constituencies, Mr. Pawar said it could be because of the lack of time left to campaign and the limits on election spending.

When asked about the margin of his victory in Baramati the previous day, the CPN Chairman said that he can tell only after visiting the constituency and talking to the people. “But I can say with 100 percent certainty that it will be a good lead,” he said.

In the 2019 state elections, Ajit Pawar defeated BJP’s Gopichand Kundlik Padalkar and won by a record 1.65 lakh votes.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)