Mumbai, April 4 -- The Congress is set to contest the upcoming bypolls for the Baramati assembly constituency, necessitated by the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, despite widespread appeals for an unopposed election for his widow and political successor, Sunetra Pawar. This effectively puts the Congress at odds with its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), which have both decided not to contest the by-elections as a mark of respect for Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in January. The Congress will also contest the by-elections in Rahuri, necessitated by the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Shivaji Kardile. Both by-elections are scheduled for April 23. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sapkal said that six aspirants have sought the party's candidature from Baramati and four from Rahuri. "We are holding online interviews for them. They want to contest, and we will take a decision in a day or two. If the NCP is contesting, we are contesting," he said. While Sapkal said that the Congress has the support of the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and the Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksh, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat clarified that the party will take a call as part of the MVA. State NCP (SP) chief Shashikant Shinde confirmed that his party will not contest in Baramati. "The Congress has decided to field candidates in both seats. We will speak to the state Congress chief. Many issues can be solved with discussion," he said. Reacting to the Congress's decision, state revenue minister and BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that Baramati was Ajit Pawar's seat. "Ajit Pawar spent 75% of his career allied with the Congress. Let the Congress contest in Rahuri, but they should not contest in Baramati," he added. In the Rahuri constituency in Ahilyanagar district, the BJP has fielded Akshay Kardile, son of former MLA Shivaji Kardile, who died in October 2025. Opposition parties are planning to support former minister Prajakt Tanpure, who is likely to contest as an independent. As Kardile is supported by water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, NCP (SP), and Sena (UBT) are mulling support for Tanpure, who was in the NCP (SP) earlier but is now likely to contest as an independent....