Baramati bypoll: Sharad Pawar’s party backs Sunetra Pawar, MVA too ready; but OBC leader Hake throws the spanner

“There is no question of fielding a candidate against Sunetra Vahini… Which means we will not contest the seat. Even Maha Vikas Aghadi will do likewise… The party has already taken a decision in this regard,” Sule told reporters in New Delhi.

Ajit Pawar, Sule’s cousin, won the Baramati seat a record 8 times in a row. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the NCP (Sharadchadra Pawar) fielded Ajit’s nephew, Yugendra Pawar, against him.

Yugendra lost the election by a margin of over one lakh votes. “I will not contest against Sunetra Kaki. Baramatikars want the election to be unopposed,” said Yugendra Pawar on Monday.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hoped that bypolls to the Baramati and Rahuri Assembly seats would be held unopposed. In the same breath, he said they were prepared to fight the elections if the situation so emerged.

“We are making efforts to ensure that a unanimous decision is reached on this count. However, if this election is forced upon us, we are prepared to fight it with full strength,” Fadnavis said in Ahilyanagar before the EC announced the bypolls schedule.

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe indicated that the MVA might not field a candidate against Sunetra Pawar. “There is a tradition in Maharashtra that when a prominent leader dies, the opposition does not field a candidate in the bypoll, especially if a family member is contesting. We did not field a candidate after Gopinath Munde died. Similarly, the opposition did not field a candidate when Congress candidate Vishwajeet Kadam contested following the death of his father Patangrao Kadam,” Londhe told this paper.

Meanwhile, OBC leader Laxman Hake on Monday criticised the ruling and opposition parties while expressing his intention to contest the Baramati bypoll.

He said unopposed elections are not in the interest of the democracy. He asked why the Baramati bypoll should be viewed through the lens of “compassionate grounds” following the demise of Ajit Pawar. Hake said, “If the swearing-in (of Sunetra Pawar) takes place just three days after Ajitdada’s death, then why should we be the only ones expressing grief over his death?”

Hake took a jibe at the Pawar family, further asserting that if Supriya Sule is practicing “professional politics,” then they will respond in kind. While explaining his decision to contest the election, Hake listed a series of pending OBC-related grievances.

He issued a stern warning regarding the Government Resolution (GR) to potentially change the name of a medical college in Baramati currently named after Punyaslok Ahilyadevi Holkar, stating that such a move would never be tolerated.

Hake alleged that neither Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister nor the current government has resolved any major OBC issues. “Be it the matter of student scholarships or hostel facilities, Hake claimed that despite their struggles, justice has not been served. He noted that with OBC reservations being undermined on one hand, contesting the election is the only way to give a voice to this injustice.

Hake said he will visit Baramati soon to interact directly with local workers. He said he will hold a meeting of local workers and gauge their opinion to find out whether he should the Baramati bypoll.

Sunetra Pawar is currently an MP in Rajya Sabha. To continue as Deputy Chief Minister, she has to get elected either as an MLC or an MLA within six months of taking charge.

The Rahuri seat had fallen vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Shivajirao Kardile in October last year. The BJP is likely to field a family member of his from the seat.

Counting for the bypolls will be held on May 4.