Baramati bypoll: Sharad Pawar, NCP (SP) leaders urge Congress to withdraw its candidate
Sharad Pawar said he would advise the Congress not to be a part of the contest as the by-poll was held in the wake of the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
“Congress is a national party and we cannot direct it to withdraw its candidate. However, the Baramati seat remained vacant due to a tragic accident that took away an influential leader from Maharashtra.
“If asked, I would suggest to the Congress that it would be appropriate not to contest this by-poll,” Pawar told reporters in Baramati. he said.
He added that the final decision rests with Congress.
Ajit Pawar’s wife and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar filed her nomination from Baramati seat. However, amid efforts to ensure an unopposed contest, the Congress has fielded lawyer Akash More for the general election on April 23.
NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule also made a similar appeal to the Congress.”Ajitdada had previously worked shoulder to shoulder with the Indian National Congress and has always maintained cordial relations with your party. An uncontested election in Baramati will be a real tribute to him.
Appealing to the Congress, Sule said, “I therefore humbly appeal to the Congress party to politely withdraw its candidate and help ensure that this election is held unopposed.” he said.
Earlier in the day, Sharad Pawar’s grand nephew NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar met Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal and urged the party to withdraw its candidate to facilitate his aunt Sunetra Pawar’s unopposed election.
“I am confident that the Congress will take an appropriate and positive decision after talking with its leaders,” he said.
According to sources, Sunetra Pawar had met Sapkal a day earlier and requested that her party’s candidate withdraw his candidacy against her in the general election.
The Congress had said it would withdraw from the contest only if an FIR was registered regarding the death of deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in January; This necessitated Baramati’s bye.
However, the run-up to the general election took a drastic turn after Sunetra Pawar’s son Parth Pawar recently criticized the Congress for fielding candidates and predicted the “collapse” of the party.
Rohit Pawar told reporters on Thursday that he expressed regret over his cousin Parth Pawar’s remarks.
The NCP (SP) leader said the Congress has given the right message that justice should be done in the plane crash and an FIR should be registered in Maharashtra.
Rohit Pawar, who has repeatedly demanded a high-level investigation into the Baramati accident, said, “I hope Sunetra Pawar, who is in Delhi today, will meet Union Minister Amit Shah and initiate a CBI probe into the incident.”
NCP (SP) announced that it will not field any candidate against Sunetra Pawar.
A total of 55 candidates applied for candidacy. The deadline for withdrawal is April 9.
