Baramati Bypoll 2026: Sunetra Pawar Crosses 50,000 Votes, Lead Becomes Massive After Round 6

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has surged past the 50,000 mark in the Baramati Assembly by-election, tightening her grip on the seat with a massive lead after six rounds of counting.

According to the official data released by the Election Commission of India, Sunetra Pawar has secured a total of 53,478 votes by Round 6. She had 44,796 votes till the previous rounds and added 8,682 votes in the latest round alone.

Her margin has now stretched to an overwhelming level, effectively turning the contest into a formality. No other candidate has crossed even 300 votes so far, highlighting the scale of her dominance.

Among the other candidates, Pro. R. Y. Ghutukade of the New Rashtriya Samaj Party has received 228 votes. Independent candidate Viraj Mahadev Shinde has secured 138 votes. Karuna Munde has 68 votes, while Abhijit Bichukale has 65 votes. Dr Vijaykumar Ramchandra Bhise has polled 53 votes, and Satish Krishna Kadam of the Hindustan Janata Party has 47 votes.

NOTA has recorded 153 votes so far. Independent candidate Sitaram Vitthal Randive has received 6 votes.

No Strong Opposition…

The by-election was held after the death of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash earlier this year. His death triggered a strong sympathy wave in Baramati, a constituency long dominated by the Pawar family.

Sunetra Pawar, contesting on a Nationalist Congress Party ticket, entered the race without any strong opposition. This has made the election largely one-sided from the beginning.

Counting began at 8 am at the State Warehousing Corporation centre in Baramati under tight security, with around 300 officials deployed. With each passing round, her lead has grown sharply -- from 6,500 votes after the first round to over 16,000 after the second, crossing 26,000 after the third, and now exceeding 50,000 votes by the sixth round.

The scale of the lead has now become the main point of focus, as the final result appears almost certain. The outcome is expected to reinforce the Pawar family’s continued political hold over Baramati and send a strong signal in Maharashtra politics.