The Congress on Thursday, April 9, announced that it will withdraw the candidate's nomination from the Baramati Assembly by-election, which will clear the way for Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Sunetra Pawar.
This comes after NCP leader Rohit Pawar met Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal in Mumbai on Thursday, urging the party to withdraw its candidate from the contest. Sapkal said the party had initially gone ahead with its campaign after fielding candidate Akash More for the by-poll, but later decided to withdraw after meeting with NCP leaders.
"We discussed internally and were of the view that our decision was correct, but considering the tradition of Maharashtra and the communication made, the party decided to withdraw our candidate Akash More from Baramati bypolls,” Sapkal quoted Hindustan Times.
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“Ajit Pawar’s death was certainly unfortunate. He was also associated with Congress in the past. Sunetra Pawar telephoned me thrice till today. A delegation also met me. Senior NCP leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde requested me on telephone. NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar also made the same request and expressed regret over the statement made against Congress," he added.
As many as 20 candidates had withdrawn their nominations for the Baramati bypoll till 1:45 pm on Thursday. A total of 55 candidates had initially filed their papers.
Supriya Sule appealed directly to the Congress leadership on Thursday, framing the move as a tribute. In a post on X, she said, “Following the untimely demise of Ajit Pawar, the Baramati Assembly constituency now faces a by-election.”
She underscored Pawar’s long association with the Congress, noting that “Ajit Dada’s political journey began with the Congress party,” and urged the party to consider “an unopposed election in Baramati” as “a dignified and heartfelt tribute to his legacy of public service and inclusive politics.”