Daijiworld Media Network - Pune
Pune, Oct 13: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has scored a major political victory after the panel backed by her faction won all 21 seats in the election to the prestigious Someshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Baramati, defeating the rival panel led by incumbent chairman Purushottam Jagtap and the panel backed by the Sharad Pawar faction.
The result is being viewed as a significant test of Sunetra Pawar's leadership following the death of her husband and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar. The victory has strengthened her position in the cooperative sector and sent a strong political message in Baramati, a region long associated with the Pawar family.
The election was not merely a contest for control of the sugar factory but also a test of political loyalty, organisational strength and the ability of different factions to retain their influence after Ajit Pawar's death.
The panel backed by Sunetra Pawar and supported by her son Jay Pawar secured a clean sweep, winning all 21 seats. The rival panel led by Jagtap, who broke ranks with the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party faction, suffered a major defeat. The panel backed by the Sharad Pawar faction and led by Yugendra Pawar also failed to win any seats.
According to election reports, 84.25 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the high-stakes contest. A total of 83 candidates contested the 21 positions on the factory's governing body.
The contest assumed particular significance because Jagtap, the incumbent chairman and a longtime associate of Ajit Pawar, decided to field a separate panel instead of supporting the panel backed by the Ajit Pawar faction.
Jagtap's experience in the cooperative sector and his tenure as chairman were considered important advantages. However, his decision to contest independently created a direct challenge to the leadership seeking to retain control of the institution after Ajit Pawar's death.
The ruling faction's candidate Vikram Bhosale defeated Jagtap in the Vanewadi constituency by 6,490 votes. Bhosale secured 13,854 votes against Jagtap's 7,364, underlining the scale of the defeat suffered by the rebel panel.
The results indicated that the challenge mounted by Jagtap and his supporters had failed to dislodge the panel backed by Sunetra Pawar and her family.
The BJP had reportedly extended support to the rebel faction, making the contest politically significant beyond the cooperative institution itself. However, the strategy failed to prevent the Ajit Pawar faction's panel from securing all 21 seats.
The election also witnessed a contest between the two political factions of the Pawar family, with Yugendra Pawar leading the panel backed by the Nationalist Congress Party faction headed by Sharad Pawar. The defeat of Yugendra Pawar's panel, along with Jagtap's loss, made the result a comprehensive victory for the faction associated with Ajit Pawar's political legacy.
The election attracted considerable attention because it was among the first major cooperative-sector contests following Ajit Pawar's death. The outcome was closely watched for indications of whether his political influence and organisational network would remain intact.
The Someshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory has been an important institution in the Baramati region, where cooperative organisations have traditionally played a significant role in local politics and rural economic activity. Ajit Pawar had maintained a strong influence over the institution since 1992.
Sunetra Pawar took an active role in the campaign, while Jay Pawar helped lead the ground-level effort to reach voters across the factory's operational area. The campaign focused on retaining the support base associated with Ajit Pawar and assuring members of continued development.
The victory is being interpreted as an endorsement of the leadership associated with the late leader and a setback for those who attempted to challenge it through separate panels. It has also strengthened Sunetra Pawar's position in the cooperative sector at a time when questions have been raised about the future leadership of the party and its traditional political base.
For the rival factions, the defeat highlights the difficulty of challenging the organisational network built around Ajit Pawar in Baramati. While Jagtap relied on his experience in the sugar factory and Yugendra Pawar contested with the backing of the Sharad Pawar faction, neither panel secured a seat.
The sweeping victory is expected to influence political equations in Baramati and the surrounding cooperative sector in the coming months. The Someshwar election has emerged as an important indicator of the strength of the competing factions and a significant milestone in Sunetra Pawar's political journey following her husband's death.