Overview
- Congress, which announced the move Thursday, pulled candidate Akash More after internal talks and public requests that cited Maharashtra’s tradition of unopposed bypolls in sensitive cases.
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and a five‑member NCP delegation pressed Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal to step back as a gesture of respect.
- Sunetra Pawar phoned Sapkal multiple times and also met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to seek an uncontested race in the seat held for decades by her late husband.
- With Congress out, no major party remains in the field against Sunetra Pawar, though officials reported about 23 candidates still in the fray for the April 23 vote after widespread withdrawals.
- Congress had earlier linked any pullout to a police case in Maharashtra on Ajit Pawar’s January 28 plane crash, while a Karnataka FIR and an Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau inquiry continue.