Baramati Bypoll Turns One-Sided As Congress Withdraws Candidate Against Sunetra Pawar

Sunetra Pawar is now set to secure an unopposed victory in the Baramati bypoll after the Congress decided to withdraw its candidate from the contest. The by-election, which was scheduled for April 23, has effectively turned into a one-sided race after the opposition party stepped aside, citing respect for the late Ajit Pawar, whose death earlier this year left the prestigious seat vacant.

Congress Steps Back Citing Respect For Ajit Pawar

The Congress announced its decision on Thursday afternoon, bringing an unexpected end to what was shaping up to be a symbolic political contest in one of Maharashtra's most high-profile constituencies.

The party said the withdrawal was intended as a gesture of respect towards Ajit Pawar, the former NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, who died on January 28 after his chartered plane crashed while attempting to land at the Baramati airfield.

Until his death, Ajit Pawar had represented the Baramati Assembly seat continuously since the 1991 bypoll. He had first won the constituency as a Congress candidate and remained its dominant political face for more than three decades. Before him, the seat was represented by his uncle Sharad Pawar from 1967, underscoring Baramati's deep association with the Pawar family.

With this, Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar's wife, is now poised to carry forward that political legacy in a constituency long regarded as a Pawar bastion.

Fadnavis, Pawar Camp Leaders Reached Out To Congress

The Congress move reportedly followed a series of appeals from across Maharashtra's political spectrum.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis personally called Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal and urged him to withdraw the party's nominee, Akash More, from the race.

At the same time, leaders from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction also appealed for the bypoll to be uncontested. Among those who reportedly made their case were acting party chief Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's grandnephew.

Sources said Sunetra Pawar herself also reached out directly to Sapkal, highlighting Ajit Pawar's past relationship with the Congress and his earlier electoral history with the party.

Senior Maharashtra politicians, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde, were also said to have spoken to Congress leaders, reminding them that Ajit Pawar had once contested as a Congress member and had longstanding political links with the party, especially during his 1991 and 1995 elections.

Baramati's Deep Pawar Family Legacy

Baramati has for decades remained synonymous with the Pawar family's political dominance. The constituency is part of the larger Baramati district, widely viewed as the family's strongest turf in Maharashtra politics.

Sharad Pawar first held the seat from 1967 before Ajit Pawar took over and built his own formidable base there after the 1991 bypoll. That uninterrupted hold over the constituency made the seat one of the most symbolically significant in the state.

Sunetra Pawar's expected unopposed entry now signals not just a political transition but also a continuation of a family legacy that has shaped Baramati's politics for nearly six decades.

Congress Says Contest Was Only Symbolic

The Congress had initially fielded Akash More for the bypoll, but the party later made it clear that its candidature was meant more as a political statement than an aggressive electoral challenge.

Explaining the decision to step aside, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, "We fielded our candidate only to show our ideological differences with the BJP-led Mahayuti," the Maharashtra Congress chief said, "Ajit Pawar's loss has hurt many of us."

That statement captured the balancing act the Congress attempted in Baramati, maintaining its ideological opposition to the ruling alliance while acknowledging Ajit Pawar's personal and political ties with the party.

With the withdrawal now official, Sunetra Pawar appears set to enter the Maharashtra Assembly from Baramati without a contest, reinforcing both the emotional moment around Ajit Pawar's death and the enduring political grip of the Pawar family over the constituency.