Mumbai, May 4 (IANS) The Baramati Assembly constituency, which fell vacant following the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash, is currently undergoing its high-stakes bye-election counting process. Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has emerged as the frontrunner, establishing a massive lead as the rounds progress. As the counting continues, Sunetra Pawar has secured a commanding lead of 36,377 votes by the end of the fourth round.

Despite facing a field of 22 candidates, Sunetra Pawar’s dominance has remained unchallenged since the first round. The constituency witnessed a relatively low voter turnout compared to previous years. The turnout was 58.27 per cent during polling held on April 23 against 71.86 per cent in the 2024 Assembly elections. Against the total number of 384,579 voters, only 224,087 voters cast their votes.

After Congress candidate Akash More withdrew his nomination, in all 23 candidates including Sunetra Pawar remained in the fray. Notably, no major political parties fielded candidates against Sunetra Pawar, leaving the race primarily between her and several Independent or smaller party representatives.

NCP (SP) youth leader Yugendra Pawar last week expressed high confidence in Dy CM and NCP president Sunetra Pawar’s performance in the bye-election.

“There was no strong opponent against Sunetra Kaki in the Baramati Assembly bye-election. Out of the 224,000 votes cast, I am confident she will win by a margin of 220,000 votes, setting a new record,” he said.

Incidentally, Yugendra lost to his uncle Ajit Pawar in the Assembly elections from the Baramati seat held in 2024.

As the counting progressed and her victory became clear, Sunetra Pawar wrote an emotional note to the party members in a post on X, “As the results of the Baramati Assembly bye-election are being declared today, I dedicate the trust shown by all of you through your votes to the sacred memories of the revered Ajit dada.

“As this result is being declared today, the memories of the revered Dada have been illuminated, and we are all feeling emotional. I humbly request all the workers who loved Dada dearly that, as a celebration of this victory, no one should take out processions or throw gulal. Let us maintain restraint and behave in a manner befitting Dada’s ideals.”

“I sincerely thank all the people of Baramati for giving me the opportunity to shape the Baramati of Dada’s dreams. This is not the end; this is just the beginning. Of determination, of struggle, and of a new Baramati,” she said.

Simultaneously, in the Rahuri Assembly bye-election, the fourth round of counting shows BJP’s Akshay Kardile pulling significantly ahead of his rivals. Akshay Kardile has bagged 20,849 votes against NCP (SP) nominee Govind Mokate who got 2,726 votes. The bye-election in Rahuri was necessitated following the sitting BJP legislator and former minister Shivajirao Kardile’s demise last year.

Incidentally, the former legislator from NCP (SP), Prajakt Tanpure, backed out from the contest after he held telephonic talks with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who promised to take up a slew of development projects suggested by him in the Rahuri constituency. Tanpure continues to be in the NCP (SP) still.

While the final results are still awaited, the current trends in both Baramati and Rahuri indicate a strong performance for the ruling alliance candidates.

–IANS

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