Indian politics has long been influenced by dynastic traditions, with political power often passing from one generation to the next within influential families.
However, Lok Sabha Elections 2024 are witnessing a different twist: intra-family conflicts that have spilled over into the political arena. Some members of the same family are pitting against each other in the race for political power.
From the rivalry between a divorced couple in West Bengal to a political showdown between sisters-in-law in Maharashtra. We take a closer look at family feuds that have turned into political battles this election
Supriya Sule vs Sunetra Pawar in Baramati
In Maharashtra, the powerful Pawar family is seeing its share of discord. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fielded the leader’s wife Sunetra Pawar opposite her sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule in the contentious Baramati constituency.
At the time of filing this report, Sunetra Pawar trails behind NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule by 25,859 votes. Pawar, who is contesting on one of the most watched seats in Maharashtra has secured 1.24 lakh votes in comparison to Sule’s 1.5 lakh votes.
Baramati has been Pawar’s bastion for long, but a split within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year after Ajit Pawar parted ways with his uncle led to a feud within the Pawar family.
Sujata Mondal vs Saumitra Khan in Bishnupur
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Sujata Mondal is up, for what the leader called an “agnipariksha”, against her ex-husband and BJP candidate Saumitra Khan in the Bishnupur constituency.
As vote counting is in progress, early results indicated that Saumitra Khan is in the lead by a margin of 3,141 votes against TMC’s Mondal.
Saumitra Khan, initially a Congress MLA, joined the TMC in 2013 and secured the Bishnupur seat for the party in 2014. In January 2019, he made a surprising switch to the BJP. That same year, with the dedicated efforts of Mondal managing his campaign, Khan won the seat by a substantial margin of over 78,000 votes.
However, their alliance took a bitter turn when Mondal chose to join the TMC in 2021 and chose to contest from Arambagh in the state assembly.
Naina vs Sunaina vs Ranjit Chautala in Hisar
The two ‘bahus’ of the Chautala clan have locked horns in Haryana’s Hisar.
Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA and mother of former Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, Naina Chautala is up against her sister-in-law and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate Sunaina Chautala. She is the wife of party leader Abhay Singh Chautala’s cousin Ravi Chautala.
The Chautala daughters-in-law are also contesting against BJP candidate Ranjit Chautala, the brother of their father-in-law.
As per the latest data from the Election Commission, Congress leader and three-time MP Jai Prakash is leading by 19,791 votes against BJP’s Ranjit Chautala. Naina Chautala and Sunaina Chautala have so far garnered 12,180 and 11,391 votes respectively.
Kalyan Banerjee vs Kabir Shankar Bose in Srerampur
The three-time TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee is pitted against his former son-in-law and BJP candidate Kabir Shankar Bose in West Bengal’s Srerampur Lok Sabha seat.
As counting continues, Banerjee has been leading with 35,464 votes in the constituency, with BJP’s Banerjee trailing behind him.
On several occasions, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee, a close aide of CM Mamata Banerjee, hit out against Bose, a practising Supreme Court lawyer over his past relationship. Banerjee’s daughter and Bose divorced in 2017.
“What political identity has he got? Nothing. The BJP gave him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election because he is my former son-in-law. Why was he not given a ticket in any other constituency other than Srerampur. What credibility has he got? Is he connected to the people of my constituency in any way – politically or socially? No,” Banerjee had said in The Hindustan Times report.
With inputs from agencies
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