Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday attributed his wife Sunetra Pawar's loss in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat to BJP leader Chandrakant Patil?s controversial remarks against Sharad Pawar. Sunetra Pawar was defeated by sitting MP Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar?s cousin and Sharad Pawar's daughter, by a margin of 1,58,333 votes.

"I am surprised with the verdict in Baramati," Ajit Pawar expressed, following a meeting with NCP MLAs to discuss the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) managed to secure only one seat, Raigad, in the polls.

Ajit Pawar pointed out that Patil's statement about wanting to "finish Sharad Pawar in Baramati" backfired on their campaign. This is not the first time the NCP has shown discontent over such remarks. Chandrakant Patil had previously declared, "BJP wants to defeat Sharad Pawar at any cost.?

Ajit Pawar criticized the BJP leader?s comments, stating, "Sharad Pawar was not a contestant for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. It was a wrong statement made by Patil, and after he said it, we asked him not to campaign in Baramati but shifted him to Pune. Later, Patil did not mention anything about it."

During her campaign, Supriya Sule also attacked the BJP over Patil?s remarks, accusing them of attempting to politically destroy her father. ?These are not my words, these are the words of state BJP leader Chandrakant Patil, who had come to Baramati and said they want to finish Sharad Pawar. These are not my words. A BJP leader said this," she emphasized.

Despite his familial rebellion against Sharad Pawar last year and splitting the party, Ajit Pawar has significant support in the Baramati region, which led many political observers to believe that Sule would face a tough challenge in securing her fourth consecutive term. However, the election results proved otherwise, with Sule maintaining her stronghold in Baramati.