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Supriya Sule faces tough road outside Baramati

Traffic woes, bad roads and garbage has taken a toll on Pawar's home turf

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It was the 'Modi wave' that blew away the Opposition in the 2014 election, but Supriya Sule of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) somehow weathered the storm and she managed to retain NCP's bastion in Baramati. Now ahead of 2019 general elections, BJP president Amit Shah's announcement that he wants BJP to win Baramati will have all eyes on the NCP's fortress which the Pawars have never lost.

After winning the seat by a mere margin of 70,000 odd votes in 2014, Sule is seen taking efforts to regain the lost ground in the constituency by constantly making rounds of her constituency and meeting common people to address their issues. Though she has a very strong network of party workers in Baramati, Indapur and adjoining area, the other areas of her constituency such as Khadakwasla, or the urban areas like Chandni Chowk or Balewadi, penetration of the party is not as much as she would like to have.

While the voters staying in and around Baramati are happy with her performance, the voters staying further away from Baramati still have their issues. Pankaj Deshmukh, an IT professional from Chandni Chowk area said, "Traffic congestion on the way to Hinjewadi IT park is the worst nightmare. MP Supriya Sule has taken efforts in holding meetings with officials but no solution to the problem has been found so far ."

The voters from Baramati, however, feel that the Pawar family has done a lot of infrastructural work in the constituency. Kalyan Kamble, from Baramati, said, "First it was Sharad Pawar who brought the infrastructure like schools and colleges in Baramati and now his daughter is carrying forward his work."

There are some semi-urban areas in the constituency, mostly from Khadakwasla constituency where they feel that they are fighting for the basic needs like water supply, good roads, sanitisation, etc which is being neglected. Rohidas Kadam, one of the residents from Khadakwasla said, "The constant garbage dumping on either side of the road can create serious health issues for the residents. The MP has been taking efforts on the road construction but she should also work towards making her constituency clean."

State dairy development and animal husbandry minister Mahadev Jankar who fought against Sule in 2014 said, "Sule is the perfect example of dynasty politics. She was born in the family which has held power in the state and she only knows how to bring development to her family than for a common man. In her stronghold of Baramati, there are some villages who are fighting with water scarcity and in such case, how can Pawar family claim of the development of Baramati."

Recently, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis while addressing party workers in Pune had stated that it was the party's mistake that it did not give party candidate at 2014 elections. "It was a mistake that the BJP candidate did not fight on Baramati seat. However, we will rectify the mistake this time and in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the candidate will fight on Lotus symbol," he said.

After winning the election with narrow margin by her standard, Sule is also seen taking more efforts in reaching out to common people either by meeting them personally or getting connected with them through social media platforms as many of the voters in the constituency are from IT industry. Despite repeated attempt, Supriya Sule remained unavailable for comment.

GARBAGE A MAJOR ISSUE

Constant littering on either side of the road leading to Khadakwasla dam is creating serious health issues for the residents


There are some semi-urban areas in the constituency, mostly in Khadakwasla constituency where they feel that they are fighting for the basic needs like water supply, good roads, sanitisation, etc which is being neglected

CONSTITUENCY PROFILE AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Baramati Constituency comprises of six legislative assemblies including Baramati, Khadakwasla, Indapur, Bhor, Purandar and Daund. While the Baramati and Indapur have remained strongholds of NCP, Congress is strong in Bhorr, Purandar has Shiv Sena MLA while Khadakwasla has BJP MLA and Daund has Rashtriya Samaj party MLA. Traditionally, the constituency has remained the bastion of Pawar family and in order to give entry to his daughter into active politics, Sharad Pawar left his Baramati seat for Sule.

PERFORMANCE OF MPS

136 – Debate

1,194 – Questions

20 – Private Members’ Bills

96% – Attendance

POLITICAL EQUATIONS

2014 – After Sharad Pawar announced that he would not be contesting the election, it was clear that Supriya Sule would be NCP's candidate from Baramati. Though there was a strong 'Modi wave', the BJP-Sena alliance did not give the candidate from their party in Baramati. Instead, they gave the ticket to Rashtriya Samaj Party candidate Mahadev Jankar who gave a tough fight to Sule.

2019 – While it is certain that Sule will be the candidate for NCP from Baramati, it will be interesting to see who will NDA field against Sule this time. BJP president Amit Shah has already announced that he wants his party workers to win Baramati seat for his party.

THUS SPOKE JANATA

No doubt that Supriya Sule is approachable and she takes note of the issues faced by people living in her constituency, but she needs to increase her outreach in the urban areas of the city which fall under Baramati constituency 
Sayara Mulla, IT professional

Whenever we approached Supriya Sule for any developmental work in our area, be it road, garbage, she not only responded positively but led us to the solutions and made sure that the issues get resolved. 
Prakash Pawar, Financial adviser

The way Sule has a good network in Baramati, she should develop a similar network in the urban areas which comes under PMC limit. These urban areas are the borders areas of the constituency which needs more attention. 
Devendra Gujar, businessman

Compared to other MPs, Sule has been very active in raising issues in the parliament. As a citizen from her constituency, I would like her to reach out to even the border areas of her constituency. 
Ganesh Chondhe, Interior designer

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