Sitharaman steps into Pawar clans Baramati turf, says ‘have come to strengthen BJP here, not talk about a family’

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Mumbai: Stepping onto the home turf of the Pawar clan of Baramati on Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman argued that she had come to strengthen the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district. She added that the purpose of her three-day visit to Baramati was not to talk about any one family. 

The Union Finance Minister’s Baramati tour is part of the BJP’s ‘Pravas’ campaign to shore up its base in 144 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country (where the saffron party is weak) ahead of the 2024 general election.   

Sixteen of the 144 LS constituencies are in Maharashtra of which Baramati, which is considered as the impregnable bastion of the Pawar clan and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is a prime target for the BJP. 

When asked about the BJP’s strategy to target Baramati to end the supremacy of the Pawar family in the constituency, a visibly upset Sitharaman shot back: “I have come here to strengthen the BJP in the constituency not for any one family…What is this Lok Sabha target you (media) people keep saying. I urge the media not to keep repeating this. Do not impose your (media’s) opinion on me.” 

At the same time, Sitharaman said that if local BJP leaders thought that her visit would lead the BJP to victory in Baramati (which the BJP have not won in any major election), then they were entitled to their opinion.

Sitharaman added, “If my partymen are saying this, then it is their opinion. I am not going to keep arguing with them on this. The BJP will be trying to enhance its base in every constituency.”

Exuding confidence, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule stated that his party was confident of giving the NCP a stiff fight and wrest Baramati from the Pawar family in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. 

Replying to queries about spiralling inflation, the Union Finance Minister clarified that she had been talking on the topic and answering to questions regularly on the issue in Parliament.

“We are doing everything to keep it in control. See what is going on all over the world. Inflation in the United States has reached the highest in 40 years. Inflation in Germany is 30 percent. We are much better off in comparison,” added Sitharaman. 

While both NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule had ‘welcomed’ Sitharaman to their constituency, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had no such qualms about extending such courtesies. 

Earlier, AAP workers waved black flags at the convoy of the Union Finance Minister to protest over rising inflation and Goods and Services Tax (GST)related issues. Three AAP workers were detained during the protest in Pune’s Warje area, said Pune police.