The April 23 bypoll for the Baramati assembly seat was necessitated following the death of then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28.
According to party sources, Sunetra Pawar will file her nomination at around 12.30 pm in Baramati in the presence of senior NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Hasan Mushrif, Dattatray Bharne and BJP Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
Earlier in the day, she visited the Hanuman temple in Kanheri and paid respects at Ajit Pawar’s cremation site. Her sons, Jay and Parth Pawar, and Tatkare accompanied her.
Rohit Pawar, in a post on X, reiterated his appeal for an unopposed election.
“Today, Sunetra Kaki is filing her nomination for the Baramati assembly bypoll. We all wish that the poll should be held unopposed. I urge other aspirants not to file their nomination papers,” he said.
Should a contest occur, the people of Baramati would see it as if Ajit Pawar himself were in the fray and ensure Sunetra Pawar’s victory by a record margin, he wrote.While the Opposition, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) have extended their support for an unopposed bypoll in Baramati, the Congress has nominated its state unit secretary, Akash More. The Congress announced More’s candidature hours after Sunetra Pawar dialled state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, urging him to ensure an unopposed bypoll.
More is the son of former party MLC Vijayrao More and belongs to the Dhangar community.
Meanwhile, NCP leader and Minister Dattatray Bharne met OBC leader Laxman Hake in Baramati, urging him not to contest the bypoll. Hake had earlier announced his intention to enter the fray.
