The Baramati assembly bypoll is set to turn into a one-sided affair after the Congress on Thursday said it will withdraw its candidate Akash More, who was in the fray against deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sunetra Pawar, following mounting pressure and appeals for an uncontested election.
The decision was announced by Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Thursday, which was also the last day for withdrawal of nominations for the by-elections.
The opposition party took the decision after unprecedented efforts were made to persuade it to support Sunetra Pawar’s candidature by not contesting the bypoll.
Soon after, More also declared that he would withdraw his nomination following the directives of the party leadership.
“Considering the long tradition of Maharashtra and the communication made by the NCP leadership and others, we have decided to withdraw our candidate Akash More from Baramati bypolls,” Sapkal said.
He revealed that Sunetra Pawar met Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge with the same request and also contacted him over the phone, with the last call made on Thursday morning.
The bypoll for the Baramati assembly constituency, scheduled for April 23, was necessitated by the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. The NCP fielded Ajit Pawar’s widow and political successor, Sunetra Pawar, for the seat.
Congress was the only major party in the state contesting against Sunetra Pawar in Baramati. It had also secured support from the Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) and the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which could have been significant in the polls. The RSP has a notable presence in the constituency, particularly among the Dhangar community.
The day began with NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar meeting Sapkal at his residence and urging him to reconsider the party’s decision. He said Ajit Pawar had maintained close relations with Congress leaders and, given his work and association with the party, Congress should withdraw its candidate from Baramati.
Sapkal, in response, said that if an FIR is not filed in the state involving a prominent leader like Ajit Dada, then why should there not be a struggle against the state government? “I respect his views and his party’s policy. However, I still request that the Congress, along with all independent candidates who have filed nominations, should withdraw their applications and cooperate in electing Sunetra Kaki unopposed,” Rohit said, adding that he is confident that everyone will respect this request.
Hours later, a five-member delegation led by NCP minister Makarand Patil met the state Congress president at the party office in Colaba and made a formal request to reconsider the party’s stand and facilitate an uncontested bypoll. The meeting lasted about an hour, after which Sapkal announced the decision.
The NCP delegation included legislators Sanjay Khodke, Rajesh Vitekar, Manoj Kayande and Sana Malik.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who has maintained a neutral stance over the bypoll, also suggested that the election be held unopposed. “The seat fell vacant because of an accident in which Maharashtra has lost a dutiful leader in the name of Ajit Pawar and hence I would suggest that it would be appropriate to make the Baramati bypolls unopposed,” he told reporters on Thursday morning.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also called Sapkal and urged him to withdraw the Congress candidate. “Following the unfortunate death of Ajit Pawar, I requested Harshwardhan Sapkal to withdraw the nomination as Maharashtra has a tradition of unopposed bypolls in case of the death of a leader. He appeared positive,” Fadnavis said.
Earlier in the day, Sapkal had told reporters that no one from the NCP had approached him except Sunetra Pawar for making the bypoll uncontested. Soon after, he received calls from senior NCP leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde requesting the same.
