Congress slams Fadnavis for his appeal for unopposed Baramati polls

The Congress has criticised an appeal made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday that the byelection in the Baramati assembly constituency be held unopposed keeping public sentiments in mind.

Reacting to the CM’s statement, Congress Maharashtra State Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkar said, “This statement by Fadnavis about the Baramati election is like a cat going to the Hajj after eating a hundred rats. It is Fadnavis who has been ignoring the public sentiments. The way to honour public sentiments in Maharashtra is to dispel all the doubts about Ajit Pawar’s death in an air crash in Baramati.”

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“It is the duty of Fadnavis to file an FIR and conduct an immediate investigation into the air crash, but he is ignoring the demand. The real way to heed to the public sentiments is to register an FIR on the Ajit Pawar air crash and conduct an impartial investigation,” Sapkal said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Maharashtra Chief Minister made an appeal to the Congress party to this effect and hoped it honour “public sentiment” and ensure an unopposed election in the Baramati assembly constituency by getting its candidate Akash More to withdraw from the contest against Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar.

Speaking to media persons earlier on Tuesday, Fadnavis that said the people of Baramati want a “consensus candidate” in light of the tragic circumstances. “Public sentiment is with Sunetra Pawar. I expect that the Congress party will value this public sentiment. People want Sunetra Pawar to be elected without opposition,” Fadnavis said, adding that if the Congress withdraws from the Baramati election contest, it will mean respecting the memory of the late Ajit Pawar.

What is note worthy is that Fadnavis made the appeal to the Congress party exactly a day after Congress candidate Akash More filed his nomination papers against Deputy Sunetra Pawar, ignoring all calls for an “unopposed election”.

As things stand, around 55 candidates have filed their nominations so far to contest the Baramati byelection and the possibility of an unopposed election seems to be considerably less.

Meanwhile, NCP founder Sharad Pawar has commented on the Congress decision to contest the Baramati byelection. “The Congress is a major political party and so they have the right to take their decisions. Therefore, there is no need to discuss it further. Also, there is no reason to demand that the Baramati by-election be held unopposed. If you want to contest an election in a democracy, then you have to accept that there will be a candidate put up against you,” he said.

Asked if he would talk to the Congress high command to ensure that the Baramati election is held unopposed, Pawar said, “There is no need to talk to the Congress. There are many people contesting the election. People enter politics to do people’s work. We must accept that there is respect for Ajit Pawar in the Baramati constituency. Unfortunately, Ajit Pawar passed away. We all feel sad about it as a family. As the head of the Pawar family, I have a responsibility. Therefore, we have decided not to field a candidate against Sunetra Pawar”.