Baramati bypoll 2026: Fadnavis, Sule to share stage in unprecedented joint appeal for Sunetra Pawar

“We might be in different parties, but our relationship has always remained firm. When it comes to the development of Baramati, we have never allowed parties to come in the way. We have worked unitedly for the development of Baramati. We might have fought elections fiercely, but after elections, we have dedicated ourselves to the service of the people and progress of Baramati,” she said.

Sule said she will be going to Baramati “with a heavy heart”. “This situation has emerged after the demise of my brother. We never thought he would die so soon. He was so full of energy and enthusiasm. It is a painful day for me,” she said.

Sule said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has already extended support to Sunetra Pawar “as a tribute to Ajit Pawar”. “I will be discussing the issue of campaigning with MVA leaders,” she added.

So far, Sule has stayed away from campaigning, as she received no request from Sunetra Pawar. But her nephew Rohit Pawar, his parents, Yugendra Pawar, and other family members have been campaigning for Sunetra. Jay Pawar, the younger son of Sunetra Pawar, had led his mother’s campaigning.

The Baramati bypoll, scheduled for April 23, was necessitated by the death of Ajit Pawar, then-deputy chief minister, in a plane crash in January. His wife, Sunetra Pawar, is contesting the seat unopposed by any major political party.

The Congress, which had fielded a candidate for the Baramati Assembly bypolls, withdrew at the last moment following appeals from leaders of both the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), including Sunetra Pawar, and even Sharad Pawar.

While 23 candidates are in the fray, all are Independents who pose no threat to Sunetra Pawar. Most of them will lose their deposits after the Baramati Assembly bypolls results are declared on May 4, NCP leaders have said.

The Pawar family has never lost the Baramati Lok Sabha and Assembly seats — Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Supriya Sule have consistently won. Ajit Pawar won the Baramati Assembly seat for seven consecutive times.