Pune: Sunetra Pawar’s Panel Sweeps Someshwar Sugar Factory Polls, Wins All 21 Seats

Baramati, 13th October 2026: Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has secured a decisive victory in her first major political test in the cooperative sector following the death of her husband, Ajit Pawar, with her panel winning all 21 seats in the election to the Shri Someshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Baramati.

The emphatic 21-0 victory consolidates her position in the region’s cooperative sector, despite a challenge from her nephew Yugendra Pawar and a rebellion by the factory’s incumbent chairman, Purushottam Jagtap. Neither challenger managed to win a single seat.

The election was seen as a crucial test of who would command the cooperative sector’s leadership following Ajit Pawar’s death, how members would respond to the emerging political equations within the Pawar family, and which faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would retain its local influence.

Yugendra Pawar contested through the Shri Someshwar Shetkari Vikas Panel under the guidance of senior leader Sharad Pawar. He had focused on farmers’ issues and sought to raise questions about the factory’s administration. However, his panel failed to win any seats.

The contest became triangular after Jagtap, the incumbent chairman, fielded an independent panel amid discussions of support from the BJP. The NCP took disciplinary action against Jagtap and candidates from his panel.

Despite serving as a director for 34 years and as chairman for several years, Jagtap failed to secure a seat for his panel.

The result reinforces Sunetra Pawar’s hold over the cooperative institution and signals continuity in the leadership structure established under Ajit Pawar.

Abhijit Kakade, Pramod Kakade, Vasantrao Dagde, Shailesh Raskar, Ashok Dhaygude, Vikram Bhosale, Hrishikesh Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Shinde, Sangram Sorte, Ravindra Bhapkar, Makarand Saste, Manisha Holkar, Dwarkoji Salve, Rajendra Borkar, Akshay Khalate, Sunil Bhagat, Pranita Khomane, Satish Jagtap, Sudhakar Tekawade, Uttam Dhumal and Chhabubai Nazirkar.