Pune, Apr 6 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Sunetra Pawar on Monday vowed to carry forward her late husband Ajit Pawar's legacy of development as she filed nomination papers for the April 23 bypoll to the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district.
She submitted the papers in the presence of her senior party colleagues Sunil Tatkare, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde and Hasan Mushrif as well as another Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, and BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena and BJP are constituents of the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra.
Before filing her nomination papers on the last day of the exercise, the NCP president made an emotional appeal to the people of Baramati to stand by her in the same way as they did for Ajit Pawar during his decades-long political career.
The death of then-Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28 necessitated the bypoll in Baramati, an assembly seat represented by him multiple times. Sunetra Pawar, sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on January 31, asserted she was committed to carry forward his legacy of development.
Describing Ajit Pawar's demise as a "profound loss" not just for her family but for the entire state, she said, "Never in our dreams did we imagine that such a bypoll would take place. Every aspect of Baramati carries Ajit dada's touch. Despite my grief, I have decided to step out and stand with the people."
"You (voters) always gave Ajit dada record-breaking victories in elections. This is the first election without him. I am confident you will extend the same love and support to me also," she stated.
Sunetra Pawar assured that Baramati's development trajectory would continue uninterrupted and that administrative discipline would be maintained.
"There is no need to worry about Baramati's future. Farmers will continue to receive water for their fields, and we will strive to make the city safe and crime-free, especially for women," she asserted.
She also invoked the legacy of veteran politician Sharad Pawar, who heads the rival NCP (SP).
"I am the daughter-in-law of four-time Chief Minister Sharad Pawar and the wife of six-time Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. I have now taken responsibility for Baramati and its development, and I am confident people will support me in shouldering this responsibility for both Baramati and the state," Sunetra Pawar maintained.
She added that for Ajit Pawar, Baramati was like a mother, and he regarded serving its people as rendering service to Lord Vitthal, a widely worshipped deity in Maharashtra.
"It is in this very Baramati that he devoted his life," she said.
The Opposition Congress on Sunday picked its state unit secretary Akash More to take on Sunetra Pawar in the bypoll, whose result will be declared on May 4.
While senior NCP leaders Tatkare and Patel said they were trying to convince the Congress leadership to withdraw the nomination for the bypoll, a social media post, quoting More on Indian National Congress, Maharashtra page, stated that if an FIR in the Ajit Pawar plane crash gets registered, he will withdraw his candidature.
In another post, quoting More, the Congress stated that the party, a constituent of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), was firm on contesting the Baramati by-election.
"We have received instructions from the top leadership. The Congress will contest this election. Since Sunetra Pawar is aligned with the BJP, she will not receive sympathy. We are contesting the bypoll precisely because she is with the BJP," said the post quoting More, who filed his papers on Monday.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, a nephew of Ajit Pawar, has been insisting that an FIR be registered in connection with the fatal January 28 plane crash near the Baramati airport.
While the ruling NCP had been trying to make the Baramati bypoll an unopposed contest, 55 candidates have filed 68 sets of nomination papers, according to the Pune district administration.
The last day to withdraw the nomination papers is April 9.