Sunetra Pawar dials Maha Cong chief for support in Baramati bypoll

While the NCP had hoped for an unopposed contest for Ajit’s widow, who took over as deputy chief minister on January 31, the Congress scuttled the plan by fielding Akash More, a prominent Dhangar leader

Mumbai: A day before the deadline to withdraw nominations for the Baramati assembly byelection expires on Thursday, deputy chief minister and the NCP’s bypoll candidate Sunetra Pawar on Wednesday called up Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, seeking the grand old party’s support for her unopposed victory. Sapkal, however, suggested she get in touch with the top Congress leadership, sources in the NCP and Congress told Hindustan Times.

Sunetra Pawar

The development came hours after Pawar met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday afternoon, NCP insiders said.

The bypoll, scheduled for April 23, was necessitated by the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. While the NCP had hoped for an unopposed contest for Ajit’s widow, who took over as deputy chief minister on January 31, the Congress scuttled the plan by fielding Akash More, a prominent Dhangar leader.

The deputy chief minister and NCP president reached out to Sapkal two days after she filed nomination papers for the bypoll. Her elder son Parth Pawar had then declared that they would not contact anyone to make the bypoll uncontested, and the Congress’ refusal to withdraw from the fray would mean the downfall of the party.

“Pawar rang up Sapkal and requested him to support her candidature by withdrawing the nomination of the Congress candidate for the byelection. Sapkal responded saying that he would have to discuss the matter with the party leadership as the Congress was a national party,” an NCP insider told HT.

Congress insiders confirmed the development. “The state president also suggested that Pawar should speak to party president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary KC Venugopal as they had the rights to take final decisions in the party,” said a senior Congress functionary.

The NCP leadership has been trying to make the bypoll unopposed, and Pawar herself had requested the leadership of the main political parties to support her candidature. She had also called up Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray last week with the same request.

The Congress is the only major party that has fielded a candidate against her in Baramati. It has also managed to get support from the Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), which has significant clout in the constituency, and the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).

On Wednesday afternoon, Sapkal said that they were trying to protect democracy by contesting the bypoll. Later in the evening, Pawar reached New Delhi where she will attend the oath-taking ceremony of her son Parth, who was recently elected as Rajya Sabha member.