Sugar mill poll: Maharashtra's Baramati may see Pawar vs Pawar yet again

PUNE: When deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's younger son, Jay, visited his grand-uncle Sharad Pawar a few days ago to seek his blessing after his marriage was fixed, it gave the impression that the bitterness within the Pawar family was on the decline.
However, another grandnephew of senior Pawar, Yugendra, on Saturday hinted at a new round of Pawar vs Pawar to be played out in Baramati soon.
After the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, a bitter tussle is expected during the election of Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in Baramati tehsil, which is dominated by Ajit Pawar's NCP.
Yugendra, along with some members of the mill, met Sharad Pawar at his residence in Baramati to discuss some issues pertaining to the mill. Interacting with the media at a function later, Yugendra criticised the performance of the board of the sugar mill.
"Workers are not getting their salaries on time. It is not giving good FRP (fair and remunerative price) to sugar cane farmers, and we should raise these issues," he said.
Replying to a question whether he will be contesting the election of the cooperative body, Yugendra said, "After what happened in the party, it was not easy for our party workers to make a decision, but they stood by us and supported wholeheartedly during the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Now, if they insist on contesting the election (of sugar mill), we cannot ignore them. We have the support of Pawar Saheb, and if we can save the sugar mill, there should not be any issue."
The election for the board of directors of the sugar mill is due and expected to be announced soon. While Ajit Pawar's faction is looking to maintain its dominance over the sugar mill politics, if Yugendra, who contested from the Baramati assembly seat against Ajit Pawar, enters the fray again, it will be two factions of NCP standing against each other once more in the Pawars' hometown, Baramati.
Pune: When deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's younger son, Jay, visited his grand-uncle Sharad Pawar a few days ago to seek his blessing after his marriage was fixed, it gave the impression that the bitterness within the Pawar family was on the decline.
However, another grandnephew of senior Pawar, Yugendra, on Saturday hinted at a new round of Pawar vs Pawar to be played out in Baramati soon.
After the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, a bitter tussle is expected during the election of Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in Baramati tehsil, which is dominated by Ajit Pawar's NCP.
Yugendra, along with some members of the mill, met Sharad Pawar at his residence in Baramati to discuss some issues pertaining to the mill. Interacting with the media at a function later, Yugendra criticised the performance of the board of the sugar mill.
"Workers are not getting their salaries on time. It is not giving good FRP (fair and remunerative price) to sugar cane farmers, and we should raise these issues," he said.
Replying to a question whether he will be contesting the election of the cooperative body, Yugendra said, "After what happened in the party, it was not easy for our party workers to make a decision, but they stood by us and supported wholeheartedly during the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Now, if they insist on contesting the election (of sugar mill), we cannot ignore them. We have the support of Pawar Saheb, and if we can save the sugar mill, there should not be any issue."
The election for the board of directors of the sugar mill is due and expected to be announced soon. While Ajit Pawar's faction is looking to maintain its dominance over the sugar mill politics, if Yugendra, who contested from the Baramati assembly seat against Ajit Pawar, enters the fray again, it will be two factions of NCP standing against each other once more in the Pawars' hometown, Baramati.