The Battle for Baramati

Striking at the sugarcane roots of power, Ajit Pawar outflanks his uncle in Maharashtra’s cooperative heartland.

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and nephew of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, has delivered a stinging blow to his uncle’s legacy in Baramati. His faction’s decisive victory in the election to the Malegaon Sugar Mill, once the undisputed bastion of Sharad Pawar’s influence, is a moment loaded with symbolism and consequence. Of the 21 seats on the mill’s board, Ajit Pawar’s panel bagged 20, leaving the elder Pawar’s loyalists with nothing but the bitter taste of defeat.

On paper, this may appear to be a local contest over a single cooperative. In reality, it represents a tectonic shift in Maharashtra’s rural politics. Sugar mills in the state are not mere agro-industrial units; they are nodes of economic patronage, grassroots mobilisation, and political muscle. Control over them offers votes, resources, and the loyalty of thousands of farmer-members. The Pawars have long understood this alchemy.

Located in Baramati, the spiritual centre of the Pawar clan’s influence, the Malegaon mill has always carried outsize significance. It was through such cooperatives that Sharad Pawar built a vast rural base, marrying the mechanics of governance with the rhythms of village life. His genius has been in fusing economic upliftment with political mobilisation with sugar mills, credit societies and educational trusts becoming his levers of influence. That he has now lost grip over one of his strongest outposts suggests not just a temporary reversal, but a generational rupture.

Ajit Pawar, long seen as a sullen understudy in his uncle’s shadow, has slowly but surely been assembling his own power structure. His break from the NCP in July 2023 and subsequent alignment with the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction marked the beginning of his open defiance. Yet, even those moves could still be dismissed as opportunism. The Malegaon win is different. It suggests that his support is no longer restricted to elected defectors; it now extends to the grassroots where Sharad Pawar once reigned supreme.

Cooperative politics in Maharashtra is the quiet machinery beneath the louder drama of Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The mills serve not just as sources of employment or revenue but as campaign bases, vote banks, and platforms for patronage. Their board members often go on to become MLAs and MPs. Control of a cooperative means control of a constituency — sometimes more than one.

Ajit Pawar’s clean sweep at Malegaon gives him more than bragging rights. It gives him a lever to expand into neighbouring districts, to fortify his base ahead of upcoming local body elections and to woo fence-sitting leaders and factions. Already, there are reports that influential rural figures, some with long-standing ties to Sharad Pawar, backed Ajit’s panel. In a polity where loyalty is often dictated by proximity to power, the younger Pawar is emerging as the more bankable bet.

Symbolism matters too. That this upset has occurred in Baramati — the crucible of Sharad Pawar’s rise — is not lost on observers. It sends a clear message: Ajit is not just nibbling at the margins anymore, but is now claiming the core.

Still, challenges abound. The affection and deference that Sharad Pawar commands among many rural leaders, especially among the older generation, cannot be overturned overnight. Nor is Ajit’s victory a guarantee of future success. Having seized control, he must now deliver on better mill management, timely payments and cleaner governance. Cooperative members are stakeholders after all, and not just mere voters. Their loyalty comes with expectations.

Ajit must also navigate the tightrope of coalition politics. Too much reliance on the BJP could reduce him to a junior partner; too much autonomy could invite friction with his allies. The balancing act between assertion and accommodation will determine whether he consolidates his gains or squanders them.

Even so, the writing on the wall is becoming legible. In Maharashtra’s complex political grammar, where sugar and credit cooperatives often write the first draft of electoral fortunes, Ajit Pawar has begun scripting a new chapter. His win at Malegaon is a prelude to a longer campaign to inherit and redefine the Pawar legacy.

The road ahead will be fraught with resistance. But if the cooperatives continue to fall his way, Ajit Pawar could well emerge not just as a challenger to his uncle, but as the most consequential leader in Maharashtra’s rural politics in the decade to come. For now, it seems that Baramati is ready to turn the page.