Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will embark on a three-day tour of Baramati Lok Sabha segment in Maharashtra from Thursday as a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP's) 'Pravas' campaign to strengthen the organisation in 144 Lok Sabha constituencies in the country. Nirmala Sitharaman has a total of 21 programmes scheduled during her three-day tour. During the three-day visit to NCP chief Sharad Pawar's stronghold, Sitharaman is scheduled to visit all six Assembly segments - Baramati, Purandar, Indapur, Daund, Bhor, and Khadakwasla - which come under the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency as per a senior BJP leader.
During the 'Pravas' campaign, Sitharaman will meet BJP cadres, hold meetings with the party's district office- bearers and also interact with the core committee members of the Lok Sabha constituency, a party functionary said. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule had earlier this month toured the constituency and interacted with BJP cadres. The minister, in a bid to prepare the ground for the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, is also expected to interact with beneficiaries of several government schemes, traders, voters, and people from various fields.
Baramati is now on BJP's target with several key leaders visiting the constituency. BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule had earlier this month toured the constituency and interacted with party cadres. He also said the saffron party would reach out to every voter in 16 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state it lost including Baramati. The BJP has launched a campaign to boost the party's base in 144 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country including Baramati and 15 other seats in Maharashtra. The state has a total of 48 Lok Sabha seats. Baramati has been a stronghold of Sharad Pawar who represented the constituency multiple times, including when he was in Congress. His nephew Ajit Pawar is also an MLA from Baramati. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP fielded Kanchan Kul against NCP's Supriya Sule.