Tanaji Dhaigude, a farmer in his sixties in Morgaon, acknowledged that Ajit Pawar, the seven-term sitting MLA and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, had transformed his constituency Baramati. Good roads, a bus depot that many believe looks like an airport, swanky malls, educational institutions, the works.

“But none of them is of much use to me,” Dhaigude, from the Dhangar Dalit community, said. “I am a farmer and I need water to irrigate my fields, but there is very little of it,” he added, sipping tea in Morgaon market. The monsoon has been good this time and there is an abundance of water now, but after two months the fields will be parched again, he lamented.

Adjoining the tea shop, Hanumant Tukaram Daund, a youth in his thirties, runs a cigarette and paan kiosk. He is very clear that his vote is for “Ajit Dada”, as the deputy chief minister is popularly called here. “Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) has become old and will retire now. Ajit Dada works here and so my vote is for him,” he said.

Baramati, the Pawar family turf, is gearing up for the second round of the Pawar-vs-Pawar battle and the voters are split once again on which side to choose — the octogenarian Sharad Pawar or his nephew, Ajit Pawar. Ajit outfoxed Sharad over a year ago and walked away with the majority of NCP MLAs and the party symbol, the clock, to join hands with the BJP.

The family feud has now assumed another dimension with Ajit claiming in an interview that industrialist Gautam Adani was part of the talks between top BJP and NCP leaders for government formation in Maharashtra five years ago.

“Everybody knows where the meeting took place. Everyone was there... Amit Shah was there, Gautam Adani was there, Praful Patel was there, Devendra Fadnavis was there, Ajit Pawar was there, Pawar Saheb was there,” Ajit told the web portals The News Minute and Newslaundry in an interview on Monday.

Ajit was responding to accusations of him deviating from the secular ideology of the NCP led by Sharad and aligning with the BJP for power.

In the general election earlier this summer, Ajit fielded wife Sunetra against Sharad’s daughter and his cousin, Supriya Sule, in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. Sule emerged victorious.

In Round Two, Sharad, who appears determined to politically cripple the “renegade” nephew, has put up his grand-nephew Yugendra Pawar against Ajit, who is contesting to retain the Baramati Assembly segment for the eighth consecutive time.

On the face of it, the battle may appear to be between the 65-year-old uncle (Ajit) and his 32-year-old nephew (Yugendra). But everyone in Baramati knows it’s Sharad vs Ajit again.

“Baap, baap hota hai (Father after all is the father),” quipped Kholi Khandare, 72, of Karhati village, declaring his support for Sharad in the family feud. “Ajit Dada should not have deserted Pawar Saheb at this age,” he added, claiming that most seniors like him would support Sharad while the “tarun” (youth) could back Ajit.

While this assessment of seniors for Sharad and youths for Ajit appeared to be playing out in Baramati, many youths said “jitega tutari (trumpet will win)” after initial hesitation. The “tutari”, or a man blowing the traditional trumpet, is the symbol of the Sharad faction of the NCP.

“In the Lok Sabha, it is Supriya Sule, and in the Assembly, it is Dada,” said Kishore Wakle, part of a group of youths in Baramati city. After the youths figured out that they were actually talking to a journalist and not a party worker, they opened up and said they supported Sharad. “Most youths here will tell you Dada, Dada… but many like us could be actually supporting Pawar Saheb. Saheb Saheb hain,” said another youth, Ramesh Jadhav.

The “Lok Sabha for Supirya and Assembly for Ajit” line is also being pitched by the deputy chief minister’s managers. “You supported Pawar Saheb in the Lok Sabha polls but now elect me from Baramati.... I have been serving you for 35 years and many times I have bent rules to help you,” Ajit has been telling the voters.

With Sharad putting his prestige at stake once again, Ajit has an uphill task ahead. The leader who hardly used to campaign in Baramati has set the target of covering all the villages in the constituency. He has also hired political consultants, who have advised him to go for an image makeover — from a grouchy politician to a smiling and amiable leader.

“Ajit Dada has the image of a very straightforward leader. He will swiftly do the things that can be done but shut out people asking for undue favours, rather rudely,” a Delhi-based political consultant advising him said. “I have advised him to visit all the villages in the constituency and interact with the voters with a smile on his face,” the consultant added. Ajit, who did not bother to talk to the media earlier, has been eagerly giving interviews and sporting a smile when asked even uncomfortable questions.

A master of many electoral battles, Sharad made an emotional appeal recently. At a rally in Baramati, the octogenarian said his current term in the Rajya Sabha, which expires in 2026, could be his last and that he wants to hand over the responsibility of Baramati to Yugendra. This was a counter to the other NCP faction’s campaign claim that “Pawar Saheb was Baramati’s past and Ajit its future”.

Fearing the emotional appeal could work, Ajit, who was advised not to attack Sharad as it ends up harming him, has been trying to portray his uncle as a villain. In interviews, he has been claiming that Sharad had negotiated a deal with the BJP leadership but changed his mind against the wishes of the NCP legislators.

In the all-out family feud, Ajit’s managers, however, feel that Sharad’s emotional appeal would fizzle out on voting day and “people will realise how Dada has nursed” the constituency. “It’s a close fight but I will win with a low margin,” a close aide quoted Ajit as having told him. The deputy chief minister can’t afford to lose Baramati again.

Maharashtra votes on November 20