Maval MP Shrirang Barne, who has joined the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena after the split of the original Shiv Sena, has been campaigning for BJP candidate Ashwini Jagtap contesting for the Chinchwad Assembly seat, indicating that the ‘long political duel between the Jagtap and Barne families has effectively ended’.
“My bond with Laxman Jagtap has improved since the 2019 elections… But now, I have no issues with the Jagtap family,” Barne told The Indian Express. “We were political rivals. My rivalry with Jagtap had lasted for over 10 years, but before his death, we had made peace. And now, I am already campaigning for Ashwini Jagtap.”
A few days ago, Ashwini Jagtap and Shankar Jagtap visited Barne’s residence in Thergaon area and had a long discussion about the polls. Both the Jagtap and Barne families are ‘gaonwallas’ or sons of the soil, and are popular in the industrial city. They have relatives across Pimpri-Chinchwad.
“The Jagtap family recently visited my residence and invited me to be a part of the campaign. We had a long chat about how to win the seat, and have a strategy in place. I am confident that our candidate will win the Chinchwad seat by a margin of over 1 lakh votes,” Barne said. BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, along with the Republican Party of India (RPI) and other smaller political parties, are in alliance and are fighting against the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate contesting for the Chinchwad seat.
Barne had defeated Laxman in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Defeating NCP’s Parth Pawar in 2019, Barne was elected from the Maval parliamentary seat on a Shiv Sena ticket for the second time. During the campaigning, Jagtap and Barne were seen together sharing the stage in presence of the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. To be sure, both the leaders joined hands more out of ‘political compulsion’.
The rivalry between Jagtap and Barne was seen during the 2009 Assembly elections, which was the first one for the newly formed Chinchwad seat. Jagtap had then defeated Barne. At a point during vote counting, it had seemed that Barne would win as he was in lead till the 18 round. “It was only after the 18th round or so that votes for Jagtap started increasing as compared to Barne, and Jagtap eventually defeated him by a big margin,” said political analyst Madhav Sahasrabuddhe.
Now however, the Jagtap family too is speaking highly of the Lok Sabha MP, who is known for his proximity to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “There are no issues between us. Political rivalry does not exist…,” said Shankar Jagtap, the brother-in-law of Laxman Jagtap. Shankar has been handling the campaigning for his sister-in-law Ashwini Jagtap, who is contesting for the first time in the Assembly election. Ashwini Jagtap said that all the party workers and leaders are showing support to her.
