Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule, who emerged victorious in a prestige battle in Baramati Lok Sabha seat, on Friday said some people tried to create an atmosphere of terror by threatening her party workers in the run up to the polls and warned she would “personally intervene” if such attempts were made again.
Sule retained the seat after trouncing Sunetra Pawar, the NCP candidate and wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Speaking at a felicitation event in Untawadi in Baramati, Sule said, “(Sharad) Pawar saheb never resorted to vendetta politics, and we will not either. However, certain individuals, not from our tehsil, created fear in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency during the elections. These people know who they are. They went door to door, to villages and threatened our party workers. I remained silent during the elections, but if they attempt this again, I will personally intervene.” While these people did not create problems in Baramati tehsil itself, they “created havoc” in other assembly segments that form the Baramati Lok Sabh constituency, Sule said, adding that the “Maharashtra of Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not tolerate such acts of intimidation”.
“It is the Maharashtra of Yashwantrao Chavan and Sharad Pawar. If anyone tries to threaten our workers again, I will take the matter to the police. I refrained from escalating the issue during the elections, but I urge you not to repeat this behaviour in the upcoming assembly polls,” she said without taking names, though it was an apparent reference to the ruling Nationalist Congress Party led by her cousin.
Recounting untoward incidents that took place during the bitterly fought polls in Baramati, Sule said a traders’ congregation that Sharad Pawar was supposed to address was cancelled at the last moment “under pressure”.
“When come traders reorganised the event, Pawar saheb humbly asked a man on stage if he was allowed to participate,” she said.
In another incident, Sharad Pawar supporter Shrinivas Pawar, who happens to be the brother of Ajit Pawar, saw the door shut on his face at the home of a long time acquaintance, Sule recollected.
“That incident left him very sad. But despite the (attempts to create) fear, people voted even more strongly in our favour,” Sule said, adding she never allowed bitterness to set in since her fight was ideological.
Speaking on reports that around 35 IT firms are planning to leave Hinjawadi IT Park in Pune, Sule said Sharad Pawar, the Maratha Chamber of Commerce, and her uncle Pratap Pawar have decided to speak to the heads of these companies.
The aim was to ensure all the concerns of the firms are addressed so that they need not relocate, the newly-elected MP said.
On the issue of election symbols, which the party claims cost them the Satara seat, Sule said they will approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking the symbol of a man blowing a tutari or the tutari alone.
“This symbol issue needs to be resolved before the assembly elections. If the ECI does not heed our request, we will take the matter to court,” she asserted.
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