Lok Sabha Phase 3 Voting: All Eyes On Maharashtra's Baramati As Supriya Sule Takes On Ajit Pawar's Wife

Lok Sabha Elections Phase 3: Maharashtra is set to witness polling in 11 of the 48 constituencies in the third phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections. 

Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is pitted against Sunetra Pawar, wife of the veteran leader’s estranged nephew and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar. ( Image Source :PTI )

Lok Sabha Elections Phase 3: Voting commenced on 92 seats across 12 states and Union Territories on Tuesday in the third phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Among the states going to polls is Maharashtra, which will see polling in 11 of the 48 constituencies. Out of the 11 seats, the spotlight is on the high-stakes battle in Baramati, where Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is pitted against Sunetra Pawar, wife of the veteran leader’s estranged nephew and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Polling will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm at the 23,036 polling centres, set up for the third phase of the general elections. The Baramati Lok Sabha seat is crucial as it is the traditional bastion of the Pawar family. The battle for this seat grabbed headlines after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) witnessed a split into two factions.

The battle in Baramati took an interesting turn when Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar decided to field his wife Sunetra against his sister and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule. The Baramati Lok Sabha seat will see a direct battle between Sunetra Pawar and Supriya Sule. Sule is likely to have an upper hand ahead of the electoral battle as she is a three-time sitting MP from the seat, which was first won by her father, Sharad Pawar, in 1984.

Yusuf Pathan Political Debut

In the third phase of Lok Sabha elections, voting will also be held on four seats in West Bengal. The third phase will see the political debut of former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who has been fielded by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) from Beherampore. The battle for the seat is crucial, as Pathan is set to challenge Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is currently the MP from the seat.

For Pathan, making inroads in Beherampore is not going to be an easy task as the seat is considered a stronghold of the Congress. The seat was bagged by Chowdhury in the 2019 elections after he defeated TMC's Apurba Sarkar.