Ajit Pawar admits fielding wife Sunetra against cousin Supriya in Baramati was a mistake

Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday acknowledged that his decision to field his wife Sunetra against his cousin Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency was an error in judgement.

Ajit Pawar with his wife and NCP Baramati candidate Sunetra Pawar.(HT_PRINT)

Sule, a three-term member of Parliament, defeated Sunetra by a substantial margin of 158,000 votes in the recent Lok Sabha polls. The high-profile contest saw Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) lose both seats it contested in western Maharashtra—Baramati and Shirur—to Sharad Pawar's NCP (Sharad Pawar).

Speaking to the Marathi news channel Jai Maharashtra during his statewide tour, Pawar expressed regret over allowing politics to infiltrate family affairs. "Politics should not be allowed to enter the home, where I made a mistake. I should not have fielded Sunetra against my sister," he said.