Baramati Bypoll: Congress Fields Akash Vishwanath More Against Sunetra Pawar Hours After Dy CM Calls Harshwardhan Sapkal For Support
The Congress announced Akash More as its candidate for the Baramati bypoll, rejecting calls for an unopposed election. Sunetra Pawar had urged the party to avoid contesting. The seat was vacated after Ajit Pawar’s death, with elections scheduled for April 23 amid efforts by the ruling alliance to ensure consensus.
Pune: The Congress on Sunday announced Akash Vishwanath More as its candidate for the upcoming Baramati by-poll in Maharashtra against Sunetra Pawar, ending speculation of unopposed polls on April 23. In an official release, the Maharashtra Congress said that party president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved More's candidature for the bye-election from the 201-Baramati Assembly constituency.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Maharashtra Congress said, "We will fight, we will win...!"
The announcement came just hours after Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP president Sunetra Pawar on Sunday dialled state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal and urged him to ensure an unopposed bypoll to the Baramati assembly segment, which she is contesting.
However, sources in the Congress indicated that the party was in no mood to support her demand and that a party candidate would file nominations on the last day of submitting papers on Monday, a report by PTI stated. Earlier on Saturday, Pawar had also called Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to seek his support. Though the outcome is still unknown, however, sources told PTI that Thackeray might support Pawar due to close ties with the late Ajit Pawar and the Pawar family.
The by-election was necessitated following the demise of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, which left the Baramati seat vacant. The Election Commission of India has scheduled polling for April 23.
ALSO READ
Efforts were intensified by the ruling Mahayuti alliance to ensure that the upcoming by-election in the Baramati Assembly constituency is held unopposed.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too appealed to all political parties to support an unopposed election. While speaking to media representatives in Nagpur on Saturday, Fadnavis had urged parties to rise above political differences and ensure consensus in Baramati.
The Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP had already announced that it will not contest the by-election.
Meanwhile, Sunetra Pawar is scheduled to file her nomination on Monday, on April 6 and is expected to be accompanied by her son, Member of Parliament Parth Pawar, Jay Pawar and several cabinet colleagues.
Ajit Pawar’s electoral legacy in Baramati
Ajit Pawar was an eight-time MLA from Baramati. In the 2019 Assembly election, he had won the seat by a huge margin of 1.65 lakh votes, while in 2024, he retained the seat by a difference of more than 1 lakh votes, defeating his brother’s son Yugendra Pawar.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
RECENT STORIES
-
-
-
-
-