Baramati bypolls: Unopposed election a pipe dream as Opposition remains divided

Mumbai: With only a few hours remaining before the deadline for filing nominations for the crucial Baramati by-elections, the NCP has initiated talks with opposition parties and groups, however, the Maha Vikas Aghadi-I.N.D.I.A opposition bloc remains divided over the issue so far.

According to the latest situation, an unopposed election seems a distant reality.

The polls were necessitated following the death of Ajit Pawar, the then NCP national president and six-time deputy chief minister, who was an eight-time MLA from Baramati.

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar will file nominations on Monday for the by-elections.

Sunetra Pawar will be accompanied by her sons Parth and Jay, NCP National President Praful Patel, and the party’s Maharashtra unit President and Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare when she files the papers in Baramati on Monday morning.

So far, around a dozen nominations have been received including from Bigg Boss Marathi Season 2 contestant Abhijeet Bichukale, a highly controversial personality, who originally hails from the Satara district.

While the opposition camp's Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has declared that it would not field a candidate and have requested the election be unopposed, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will not field a candidate given the relations between the two families.

Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member said that Thackeray had spoken to NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, the Pawar-family patriarch, on the issue.

“Sunetra Pawar is contesting the elections along with the BJP…this was discussed and the final decision rests with Thackeray…we must also note that Thackeray had very good relations with Ajit Pawar,” he said, adding that elections are a matter of respect and honour and it is wrong to urge anyone not to contest.

During the day, Sunetra Pawar spoke over the phone with Maharashtra Congress President Harshavardhan Sapkal.

At the time of going to Press, the Congress maintained that it would be putting up a candidate in Baramati.

The Congress has claimed support from Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Mahadev Jankar-headed Rashtriya Samaj Paksha.

On the other hand, senior NCP leaders will also reach out to Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

In a related development, OBC leader Prof. Laxman Hake - one of the key persons who protested against the Maratha reservation - has decided to file papers from Baramati.