Shrinking political space forcing parties to defy convention of ‘unopposed’ bypolls in Maharashtra

Mumbai: The long-observed political convention in Maharashtra of facilitating unopposed byelections in constituencies following the death of sitting legislators is steadily losing relevance, with electoral compulsions increasingly taking precedence over sentiment and legacy.

An analysis of the bypoll trends over the past decade indicates that more than three-fourths of such vacancies have led to contests, reflecting the intense competition between parties in a politically fragmented landscape.

Traditionally, political parties in Maharashtra have refrained from fielding candidates against kin of deceased legislators as a mark of respect, allowing them a smooth entry into electoral politics.

However, this convention, once considered part of the state's political culture, now appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

The upcoming Baramati assembly byelection, necessitated by the demise of then Deputy CM and NCP stalwart Ajit Pawar, stands out as a rare instance in which the older norm briefly resurfaced.

The contest appeared imminent but ultimately didn't materialise after Congress withdrew its candidate at the eleventh hour. Ajit Pawar's wife, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, is the main contestant in the fray, though some Independents are still in the contest for the April 23 bypoll.

In contrast, several recent bypolls have witnessed intense electoral battles.

The Kasba Peth byelection in 2023, held after the death of sitting MLA Girish Bapat of the BJP, turned into a high-stakes contest, ultimately resulting in victory for Ravindra Dhangekar, who contested on a Congress ticket.

Similarly, the Chinchwad bypoll saw a multi-cornered fight despite the BJP fielding a family member of the deceased legislator. The BJP had fielded Ashwini Jagtap, widow of Laxman Jagtap. Notably, the NCP (undivided) entered the poll fray. However, its candidate, Vitthal Alias Nana Krushnaji Kate, lost the contest.

Earlier, the Andheri East assembly bypoll in 2022 briefly revived the tradition when a major party withdrew its nominee following appeals from various quarters, virtually giving a walkover to Rutuja Latke of Shiv Sena (UBT), wife of the late MLA Ramesh Latke.

However, such gestures are becoming rare.

Data suggests that since 2014, more than 15 byelections in Maharashtra, both to the assembly and Lok Sabha, have been necessitated due to the death of sitting members.

Only a handful of these witnessed unopposed outcomes, underscoring the declining relevance of the informal "no-contest" understanding.

In assembly constituencies such as Kolhapur North, Pandharpur, and Bandra East, parties defied the convention of not fielding candidates, prioritising electoral arithmetic and organisational strength, leading to full-fledged polling exercises, political observers noted.

The Congress and BJP fought an intense battle for Kolhapur North in 2022. A contest unfolded in the Deglur segment in 2021. The son of the late Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar retained the seat by defeating his BJP challenger.

In the 2021 bypoll to the Pandharpur assembly seat, the BJP wrested the seat from the NCP (undivided).

The Congress rpt Congress had fielded ex-chief minister Narayan Rane from the Bandra (East) seat in the bypoll held in 2015, but he lost to Trupti Sawant, wife of the late MLA Prakash Sawant (Shiv Sena).

Political observers attribute this shift to the rising stakes in legislative numbers and the fragile nature of coalition politics in Maharashtra.

With each seat potentially influencing government stability, parties are now unwilling to concede electoral ground, even in sensitive circumstances, they said.

The convention now survives only in exceptional cases, typically involving leaders with cross-party goodwill or where contesting an election could invite public backlash.

As Maharashtra's political landscape continues to evolve, the balance between tradition and tactical necessity appears firmly tilted towards the latter, signalling a definitive transformation in the conduct of by-elections in the state, observers added.

The assembly segments that followed the "unopposed tradition" where other major parties withdrew or refrained from fielding candidates to honour the deceased leader are - Baramati, which is likely to be a walkover for Sunetra Pawar after the Congress withdrew its candidate as a tribute to the late Ajit Pawar.

In the 2022 bypoll, Rutuja Latke won the Andheri East seat unopposed after the BJP withdrew its candidate, Murji Patel, following public appeals to respect the tradition.

In 2018, Vishwajit Kadam of Congress won the Palus-Kadegaon seat after the BJP candidate withdrew to honour the late Patangrao Kadam of Congress.

Following the death of former state home minister and NCP (undivided) leader, R R Patil, his wife Suman Patil won the Tasgaon seat comfortably as no major party fielded a candidate against her.

In 2014, Pritam Munde of the BJP won comfortably as the NCP didn't field a candidate against her following the death of her father and MP, Gopinath Munde, from Beed.

In contrast, political interests or a lack of consensus led to full-scale electoral battles for the Bhokar assembly segment in Nanded district in 2024, Deglur and Pandharpur (2021), and Bandra East (2015).

Congress leader Ratnakar Mahajan said sentiments have taken precedence over political thinking in the contemporary period.

Senior journalist Prakash Akolkar said the trend of fielding kin of the deceased legislators is aimed at facilitating political interests rather than respecting legacy.

"Why is there no talk of an unopposed election in Rahuri despite the byelection happening due to the death of a sitting member?" he asked.

BJP leader Keshav Upadhye said the demand for an unopposed byelection stems from public sentiments attached to a popular leader who has represented them till his/her death.

An analyst said that demanding an unopposed election is wrong in a democracy except in rare cases.