MUMBAI: Congress slammed NCP (SP) for not fielding a candidate in both Baramati and Rahuri constituencies that are scheduled to for by-election polling on April 24 following the death of Ajit Pawar and Shivajirao Kardile respectively.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said that if NCP (SP) does not field a candidate against Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar soon, then the Congress will field its own candidate in Baramati. He added that the Congress will also field a candidate in Rahuri.
Earlier, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule said that the party will not field any candidate other than Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Ajit Pawar, in Baramati.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said that the Congress party is ready to contest the Baramati and Rahuri seats, because elections and sympathy are two different things.
He questioned that if BJP could field its candidates during bypolls in the past, why must the Congress choose to remain still. Sapkal also held a meeting with Rashtriya Samaj Paksha leader Mahadev Jankar, whose party has significant influence in Baramati.
Another Congress leader said that both the Baramati and Rahuri seats were with NCP (SP), and therefore they were supposed to choose candidates. However, the NCP (SP) has taken a stand that is favourable to the BJP, he alleged.
"We, as alliance partners of the NCP (SP), want some clarity from the party on what exactly they want to do, whether they are really part of the MVA or NDA," he stated, requesting anonymity.
In the 2024 Maharashtra polls, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) had fielded Yugendra Pawar as its candidate against Ajit Pawar, but in these bypolls, there is no Pawar versus Pawar play.
Voting in both Baramati and Rahuri constituencies is scheduled on April 24, while counting is on May 4.