Following the appeals by the top NCP (SP) leadership, including Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Congress, on Thursday, decided to withdraw its candidate Akash More from the Baramati Assembly bypoll, paving the way for Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar’s uncontested victory from the constituency.
The seat fell vacant after the tragic death of NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who had represented the Baramati Assembly constituency eight times. As the election was necessitated by the death of a highly respected leader, there have been calls from various quarters for an unopposed election as a mark of respect.
The decision by the Congress came hours before the deadline to withdraw the nomination.
On Thursday morning, Sule had urged the Congress to reconsider its decision to field the candidate, saying in a social media post, “Ajit Dada’s political journey began with the Congress party, and he maintained a long-standing, respectful association with it throughout his career. In this moment of grief and remembrance, an unopposed election in Baramati would serve as a dignified and heartfelt tribute to his legacy of public service and inclusive politics.”
Sharad Pawar had also made a similar remark. “Congress is a national party, and we cannot direct it to withdraw its candidate. However, the Baramati seat fell vacant due to a tragic accident that snatched away an efficient leader from Maharashtra…If asked, I would suggest to Congress that it would be appropriate to make this bypoll unopposed,” he told reporters in Baramati.
Sunetra Pawar, too, had reportedly talked to Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, requesting him to withdraw the nomination of his party's candidate.
On Thursday, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar met Sapkal with the same request. He had expressed regret about his cousin Parth Pawar’s remarks. “I am confident the Congress will take an appropriate and positive decision after speaking to its leadership,” he said.
CM Fadnavis too had spoken to Sapkal and requested him to withdraw the party’s candidate. News agency PTI quoted sources as saying that Fadnavis called Sapkal and sought his support for an unopposed election of Sunetra Pawar.
A total of 53 candidates, including Sunetra Pawar and Congress’s Akash More, had filed their nominations. Till Thursday afternoon, as many as 20 candidates had withdrawn their nominations.
The Congress finally yielded to the pressure, with AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, Ramesh Chennithala, saying he had asked the party’s state unit to withdraw its candidate from the poll fray.
“The Baramati bypoll was necessitated due to the tragic death of Ajit Pawar. As a mark of respect for him, Congress will not contest the by-election,” he said.