Baramati Pawar players enter arena, in their individual styles

PUNE: A low-key affair versus a show of strength summed up the filing on Monday of nominations in the Pawars' bastion, Baramati .

NCP supporters took out a rally before Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar went to the tehsil office to file his papers, showcasing the latter's "support" in Baramati. Ajit's two sons, Parth and Jay, and some beneficiaries of Maharashtra govt's Ladki Bahin scheme accompanied him.

In contrast, Yugendra followed his granduncle Sharad Pawar 's footsteps and visited their ancestral home in Baramati's Amrai, the same house from where Pawar Sr had gone to the tehsil office in 1967 to file his first-ever nomination to contest assembly polls.

Ajit and Yugendra filed their nominations within half-an-hour of each other. They avoided facing each other at the time of filing papers for the second round the Pawar versus Pawar battle in Baramati (after LS polls).

Pawar Sr visited the tehsil office with his grandnephew on Monday. Yugendra's parents, Shrinivas and Sharmila Pawar, and his aunt, Baramati MP Supriya Sule, also accompanied him. " ...For me, it is not important who is against me. I give more importance to who is supporting me," Yugendra said.

His uncle Ajit Pawar said, "The rival faction has made a mistake by nominating his nephew. I admitted that it was my mistake to field candidate against Sule. Now, they (Sharad Pawar's party) have fielded a family member against me and committed the very same mistake."