NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule on Monday announced that her party will not contest the upcoming Baramati Assembly bypoll, scheduled for April 23, 2026. The by-election was necessitated following the tragic demise of senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar in a plane crash earlier this year.

Sule, who retained the Baramati parliamentary seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, stated that the NCP (SP) would not field a candidate against Sunetra Vahini, who is expected to contest the bypoll. She indicated that the decision was taken after internal discussions within the party. “I have already clarified that NCP (SP) will not contest the Baramati bypoll. We will not field our candidate against Sunetra Vahini. Even the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance is expected to follow suit,” Sule said while speaking in New Delhi.

Baramati, located in Maharashtra’s Pune district, has long been a stronghold of the Nationalist Congress Party. Following Ajit Pawar’s passing, Sunetra Pawar is likely to enter the fray as part of the party’s efforts to retain its influence in the region. The Election Commission of India has announced that bypolls for both Baramati and Rahuri (in Ahilyanagar district) will be held on April 23, 2026, following vacancies caused by the deaths of Ajit Pawar and BJP MLA Shivajirao Kardile. The BJP is expected to field a member of Kardile’s family from the Rahuri constituency. The results for both bypolls will be declared on May 5, 2026.