Reconciling rivals, Devendra Fadnavis holds rally to campaign for Sunetra Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held the first political rally to support Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar, on Friday following internal disputes that cropped up in the Mahayuti alliance after she was fielded for the Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency. 

Fadnavis addressed BJP supporters at the rally and spoke on 'Yuti Dharma'.

Former minister and BJP leader Harshvardhan Patil had opposed supporting Ajit Pawar's faction due to traditional political rivalry in Baramati. The four-time elected MLA announced that he would not support Sunetra Pawar.

Devendra Fadnavis then finalised a meeting with supporters of Harshvardhan Patil to make 'Mission Baramati' successful, aiming to 'patch up' things between Ajit Pawar and Patil.

In his speech at the rally, the deputy Chief Minister said, "We must forget what happened till now for Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

"Till yesterday, Ajit Pawar was opposing our agenda. But if the agenda is acceptable today, all NCP supporters should be taken along," he added.

Sunetra Pawar was also strongly opposed by Vijay Shivtare, a supporter of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after her candidature was announced. Shivtare announced that he would contest against both Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar.

After discussions with Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde, Shivtare withdrew from the election and agreed to work for the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Apart from Baramati, the Mohite family from Solapur, which holds political dominance over Madha Lok Sabha constituency, also opposed the candidate. Meanwhile, Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde are trying to convince the rebels and large-scale damage control is underway in western Maharashtra.

The rivalry between Harshvardhan Patil and Ajit Pawar goes back some years as the NCP leader fielded a candidate against the BJP leader for legislative elections, even after Patil helped Supriya Sule during the Lok Sabha elections before the NCP's split.

Harshvardhan Patil held a meeting with Ajit Pawar at Devendra Fadnavis's bungalow. After that, Devendra Fadnavis addressed party workers in Indapur to resolve the conflict between Ajit Pawar and Patil.