Baramati Bypoll 2026: Sunetra Pawar Secures Victory In Pawar Family’s Stronghold

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has effectively sealed victory in the Baramati Assembly by-election, crossing the decisive majority mark as counting progressed to the 13th round.

She is now leading by a massive margin of 1,12,268 votes. In the 13th round alone, out of 8,839 votes counted, she secured 8,559 votes, while all other candidates together managed just 280 votes.

The numbers make the outcome virtually certain. Baramati recorded a voter turnout of 58.17% out of 3,81,157 registered voters. This means a total of 2,21,719 votes were cast. The halfway mark stands at 1,10,860 votes.

With Sunetra Pawar crossing around 1.12 lakh votes, she has already gone beyond the 50% mark. This gives her not just a lead, but an absolute majority of votes polled.

Under India’s electoral system, a candidate only needs more votes than rivals to win. However, in this case, the margin is so large that no other candidate can mathematically catch up.

Sunetra Pawar Appealed For Restraint…

The bypoll was held after the death of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash earlier this year. The election saw no strong opposition, turning it into a one-sided contest.

Earlier in the day, Sunetra Pawar had appealed for restraint. She urged party workers not to celebrate with processions or gulal and dedicated the mandate to Ajit Pawar’s memory.

Counting began at 8 am under tight security and is continuing in rounds. However, with her vote share now crossing the majority mark and her lead going beyond one lakh votes, the result is no longer in doubt.

The victory is expected to further strengthen the Pawar family’s hold over Baramati and send a strong political signal across Maharashtra.