Baramati By-Election Hurdles For Sunetra Pawar As Congress Decides To Contest

Political activity in Maharashtra has picked up pace as the Baramati by-election inches closer. What was earlier expected to be a near-formality, unopposed election has now turned competitive, with the Congress fielding a candidate against Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar. This evening, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the candidature of Advocate Akash Vishwanath More.

In recent days, Sunetra Pawar, who is set to file her nomination tomorrow, is learnt to have reached out to several leaders in Mumbai and Delhi in an attempt to ensure an unopposed contest. 

The latest among them is Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal. Sources indicate that Sapkal has conveyed to Pawar that the push to field a candidate has come from the party's central leadership, leaving limited room for the state unit to intervene.

"Sunetra Pawar has discussed the matter with Uddhav Thackeray, but no decision has been taken yet," said MP Sanjay Raut. He added that the party has also taken into account Pawar's alignment with the BJP.  "She is a member of the Mahayuti and not the Maha Vikas Aghadi," he added.

The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), which had earlier leaned towards supporting an unopposed election, had maintained that the opposition alliance should take a collective call.

Recent developments, however, point to a lack of consensus in the MVA over the Baramati bypoll. While leaders from the NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) say discussions are in progress, Sapkal has begun receiving applications from aspirants in Baramati.

Sources suggest that at least six potential candidates have approached Sapkal, who is expected to be in Baramati tomorrow to interact with them. 

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule had retained the Baramati Lok Sabha seat when Sunetra Pawar was the challenger. She had defeated Sunetra Pawar by a margin of 1,58,333 votes.

Ajit Pawar had later said that pitching his wife against his sister was a mistake and contests within the family should be avoided.