The prestige battle for Baramati in Maharashtra has the NCP's Ajit Pawar in a commanding lead over his nephew and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar leader) Yugendra Pawar.
This year's Maharashtra Assembly elections are a battle of survival for both factions of the NCP, who are out to prove that they have the support of voters. The Lok Sabha polls were a setback for the Ajit Pawar group, which had managed to win only one out of the four seats it had contested.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP had, however, put up a dominant show and won eight of the 10 constituencies it had fielded candidates in, emerging as the party with the best strike rate in the state.
The stupendous performance had prompted the Sharad Pawar-led group to proclaim that it was the real NCP despite the Ajit Pawar faction being given the original name and symbol of the party.
In a few short months since the Lok Sabha results in June, however, the ruling Mahayuti seems to have gained momentum on the back of schemes like the Ladki Bahin yojana, and the contest between the two NCPs was seen to be a much closer one this time.
Ahead of the Assembly elections, Ajit Pawar had reiterated that it was a mistake to field his wife against Supriya Sule but maintained that he would "100 per cent" secure his seat.
"It was my mistake to field her against Supriya Sule, I have told you again and again. It is over now. On November 20 there is an election in Maharashtra and the voters will decide in whose hands Maharashtra should be given for five years.