During the rally preceding the nomination filing, NCP SP leader Sharad Pawar’s photo was displayed along with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s photo
A visibly emotional Sunetra Pawar on Monday (April 6, 2026) filed her nomination as the Nationalist Congress Party candidate from Baramati for the upcoming bypolls, amid a show of strength by the party. She was flanked by Mahayuti leaders Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP cabinet minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. None of the Pawar family members from NCP SP were seen during the nomination rally in Baramati. This was months after her husband Ajit Pawar lost his life in a tragic air crash, leading to the declaration of the by-polls for Baramati.
But, during the rally preceding the nomination filing, NCP SP leader Sharad Pawar’s photo was displayed along with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s photo. Sharad Pawar later told reporters in Delhi that it was wrong to show his photo on the NCP platform.
MVA rift: Uddhav likely to back Sunetra Pawar in Baramati bypoll, but Congress not on board
Before filing her nomination, Sunetra Pawar delivered an emotional speech in the presence of all the senior NCP leaders. “Baramati was Ajit dada’s breath. And he took his last breath too in the same soil. To him, each voter was his Pandurang,” she said, adding that she had locked her grief to stand with courage for the people of Baramati and for the party workers. “I want to admit it humbly that your love, your support, is my strength. This is the first election in Ajit Dada’s absence. Baramati is not just a constituency for me. It is my identity. Its progress is my drive. This is not my election, this is the election of the people of Baramati,” she said.
