- Sunetra Pawar leads Baramati bypoll with over 1.32 lakh votes in early counting
- She dedicates victory to late husband Ajit Pawar and voters' trust in him
- No major party opposed her as a tribute to Ajit Pawar after his death
Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sunetra Pawar, who recorded a historic win in the Baramati assembly bypoll, dedicated her victory to voters' trust in her late husband, Ajit Pawar. Pawar scripted history by winning the seat by a margin of over 2 lakh votes, surpassing benchmarks set by both her husband Ajit Pawar and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.
"This is the first election after Ajit Pawar. Never had I thought that I would have to contest this election. The votes from the people of Baramati are the real tribute to Ajit Dada. I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart," Sunetra Pawar said in her first reaction after the counting started.
"I will continue to serve my people and bring the dreams of Ajit Pawar into reality through the developmental work."
The by-election, held on April 23, was necessitated following the death of the then Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief, Ajit Pawar, in an airplane crash near Baramati in the Pune district on January 28. NCP has fielded his wife, Sunetra Pawar, from the seat that is the Pawar family's stronghold.
As a tribute to Ajit Pawar, no other major political party, including the Congress, fielded any candidates against her.
Sunetra Pawar also thanked the family's patriarch and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Baramati MP Supriya Sule for their support.
"Baramati is my family. Sharad Pawar had declared that they would not contest any candidate. This is the support I've got from my family. The kind of work, belief, and service Supriya Sule and the Pawar family have offered (to this constituency) as of now, I will try my best to take it forward," she said.
She also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the party's massive victories in the West Bengal and Assam Assembly elections. "It is the belief of people that has been reiterated through these results," Pawar said.
Sunetra Pawar Looking At Historic Win
Sunetra Pawar's victory margin broke the electoral records set by her husband and his uncle Sharad Pawar. She won the poll by a margin of over 2.1 lakh votes, receiving nearly 98 per cent of the total polled votes.
The record for the highest victory margin in a Maharashtra Assembly election was held by Ajit Pawar in 2019 by winning the Baramati polls by 1.65 lakh votes. But the record for highest vote percentage was under the name of Sharad Pawar, who won from the Baramati constituency in 1990 by a 75 per cent vote share.
