Join hands with BJP to push Raj Thackeray onto electoral main stage

Raj Thackeray has joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Pune:

Barely 72 hours after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray announced unconditional support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Mahayuthy government on Friday Later, he suddenly found himself catapulted from the political fringes to the main electoral stage.

The MNS chief – whose party symbol is the ‘Railway Engine’ – was elected by Sunetra Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate from Baramati. Something to be proud of is found in posters, banners, leaflets and promotional materials.

Baramati has emerged among the few top Lok Sabha constituencies in 2024, with Sunetra, wife of NCP chief and deputy prime minister Ajit Pawar, and his cousin, the SP A “big fight” was arranged between working president Supriya Sule. Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar.

The apparently intense battle between ‘bhabhi’ (Sunetra) and ‘nanad’ (Supriya) has aroused huge interest not only among locals but also across the country, even being labeled as ‘rookie’ and ‘veteran’ The contest between the labels – all men and women on both sides came to the aid.

Now, with the addition of Raj Thackeray, Sunetra A Pawar’s status seems to have been strengthened and he is pictured wearing glasses and saffron kurta, occupying a revered position alongside other biggies.

They are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Raj Thackeray, RPI (A) Chairman and Union Minister Ramdas Attawal, People’s Samajwadi Party leader Mahadev Jankar and People’s Party leader Sadab Kot.

Sitting on the upper left is former deputy prime minister YB Chavan, the last CM of Bombay state and the first CM of the newly created state of Maharashtra, along with founder of the original Shiv Sena Balasaheb Thackeray .

Facing strong opposition from almost the entire Pawar family, Sunetra A. Pawar is campaigning in earnest to wrest the Baramati LS seat from Supriya Sule.

No one believed this would be a cakewalk for Sunetra Pawar – after all, the Baramati Party had elected Sharad Pawar five times, plus one by-election to Ajit Pawar. Val once and Supriya Sule thrice.

It has been the traditional bastion of the Congress-NCP (Indivisible) since the 1957 LS elections, except during two elections – the 1977 BJP wave and the 1985 by-elections.

The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar on June 10, 1999, split vertically in July 2023, similar to the one founded by Balasaheb Thackeray on June 19, 1966 The Shiv Sena suffered a split in June 2022.

The upcoming electoral battle in Baramati and other parts of the state is also being seen as a referendum on the splinter factions – CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP – now Touted as the ‘original political party’.

In fact, Sharad Pawar couldn’t resist dipping his little finger into the boiling cauldron and playfully remarked on how the Battle of Baramati would pit local Pawar (Supriya) and outsider Pawar (Sunetra ) – which elicits public laughter through hidden messages. Nothing is lost on either side.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)