The police removed the banner which was vandalised and smeared with ink
Unidentified persons threw ink on a banner with the photograph of Sunetra Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar's wife, declaring her as the next Lok Sabha MP in Pune district.
A video of the incident, which occurred in Karhati village in Baramati taluka, the home turf of the Pawars, has gone viral on social media.
Police rushed to the spot and the banner was removed, an official said on Sunday.
Notably, the banner declared Sunetra Pawar as an "upcoming MP" and appealed to people to elect her with a huge margin. Speculation is rife in political circles about the candidature of Ajit Pawar's wife from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency against the backdrop of a split in the NCP.
In a setback to Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission recently recognised the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NCP and allotted it the clock symbol.
Ajit Pawar's cousin Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar, is the sitting MP from Baramati.
Such posters about Sunetra Pawar's candidature had come up in Baramati in the past as well.
The Baramati assembly constituency is represented by Ajit Pawar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)