Sunetra Pawar to contest Baramati bypoll, only Congress may field candidate against her

The seat fell vacant following the death of her husband and late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, 66, who was killed in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. Ajit Pawar was elected from the seat on eight occasions

Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, 62, will file her nomination on April 6 for the Baramati assembly bypolls scheduled on April 23, Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare announced on Tuesday.

Sunetra Pawar (HT PHOTO)

The seat fell vacant following the death of her husband and late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, 66, who was killed in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. Ajit Pawar was elected from the seat on eight occasions.

Sunetra Pawar may win the bypoll unopposed as all political parties barring the Congress have refused to field a candidate opposite her. The NCP will also initiate discussions with opposition parties to build consensus on unopposed elections, Tatkare declared.

“I, along with the party’s working president Praful Patel, will initiate talks with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi and also meet Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray to explore the possibility of uncontested elections,” Tatkare told reporters.

The Congress had earlier rejected appeals for an unopposed poll in Baramati, maintaining that elections should be fought democratically.

While Ajit Pawar raked up victories in Baramati in consecutive assembly polls since 1991 till his death, his uncle and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar’s bid to snatch the seat from him by fielding Ajit’s nephew Yugendra did not yield desired results in the assembly elections held in November 2024.

Following Ajit’s death, Sunetra Pawar took complete control of the NCP. She was elected national president of the NCP and replaced her late husband as deputy chief minister.