His daughter Supriya Sule, however, more than made up with a whirlwind tour of Pawar’s home turf Baramati. Looking at her enthusiasm, several party leaders observed that she was indeed a worthy successor. Within 12 hours, she covered eight villages and met 50,000 people in her “poll campaign” on Wednesday.

Just a week into the formal announcement of her candidature, 39-year-old Sule, a Rajya Sabha member, is visiting villages, encouraging women empowerment and stressing why English should be learnt along with the mother tongue.

During a special drive called the gaon bhet or village visit, Sule, who is the only child of the NCP chief, toured Gunawadi, Dhorlewadi, Songaon, Jargarwadi, Bhaklewadi, Mithale, Niravagaj and Khandaj. Water issues, drainage system and roads, Sule is touching all issues and has promised to return with solutions.

“My father has done a lot of work for women empowerment and I would like to continue the work,” she told villagers gathered to have a glimpse of their new leader. “She listened to the villagers patiently,” said a senior NCP member.

Sule told the villagers that just as Marathi was important, English and Hindi too needed to be learnt. To drive home her point, she cited the success of a girl from the rural background, Sushma Tupe, who has undergone pilot training.

Sule supporters said she got a good response and will hold many public rallies. Unlike her father, who held just one public rally, Sule would have to develop more rapport with the people, many of them feel.