Sunetra Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has achieved a resounding victory in the Baramati Assembly by-election, securing a record-breaking margin of 218,930 votes. This win surpasses the previous record held by her husband, Ajit Pawar, who won the same constituency in 2019 by a margin of 1.65 lakh votes [8]. The final count saw Sunetra Pawar receive a total of 218,930 votes, while all other candidates combined garnered only 4,837 votes [5].
The by-election was necessitated following the death of the sitting MLA, Ajit Pawar, in a plane crash in January [7]. The counting process, which concluded on May 4, 2026, saw Sunetra Pawar consistently maintain a significant lead from the initial rounds [1, 5, 6]. By the end of the eighth round, she had established a lead of over 70,000 votes [2]. As counting progressed, her lead widened substantially, reaching over 1.21 lakh votes by the fourteenth round [1]. By the end of the final 24th round, her margin of victory had set a new national record for the highest winning margin in an assembly election [1, 8].
Sunetra Pawar’s victory in Baramati, a constituency with a long-standing Pawar family legacy, has been described as a landslide mandate [1, 3]. Throughout the electoral process, she maintained a comfortable lead over her 22 rivals, most of whom were Independent candidates. The New Rashtriya Samaj Party candidate, Professor RY Ghutukade Sir, trailed significantly behind, securing only 198 votes [1]. Notably, the NOTA (None of the Above) option also received more votes than some individual candidates [10].
Following her victory, Sunetra Pawar issued a statement urging her supporters to maintain restraint and avoid large celebrations. She dedicated the win to the memory of her late husband, Ajit Pawar, and encouraged people to uphold his ideals [4, 5]. The election saw a voter turnout of 58.27% in the Baramati Assembly constituency [4].
The Baramati bypoll, held alongside other Assembly by-elections across Gujarat, Karnataka, Nagaland, and Tripura, was closely watched for potential shifts in voter sentiment [1]. The victory in Baramati underscores a dominant electoral performance for Sunetra Pawar and solidifies the Pawar family’s entrenched hold on the constituency.
The Chenab Times News Desk