Aim was to control narrative, not seat

The spot in Baramati where a Learjet 45 operated by VSR Ventures crashed on January 28, killing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and necessitating the byelection to the Baramati Assembly constituency. Pic/By Special Arrangement

If Congress never really wanted to contest the Baramati byelection, why create so much noise before stepping back? Because this was never confusion; it was strategy.

Baramati is not just any seat. It is a stronghold of the Pawar family. Everyone knows how elections here usually go. Congress knew this, too. Winning was never the real aim. So what was?

The focus was not on votes or candidates. It was on one issue: the Maharashtra government's refusal to file an FIR in connection with Ajit Pawar's death. That is the real story. In Baramati, the missing FIR has become a big political issue. Congress made sure it stayed that way. By saying it would withdraw from the election if an FIR were filed, the party linked its presence directly to accountability. No matter what happened, the issue stayed alive.

Step in, step out, but stay in the headlines.

With this move, Congress did two things at once. It entered the election discussion and completely changed it.

Now, the election is not about who will win. It is about why an FIR has not been filed. That is smart politics.

What makes this more interesting is that Congress was not even in line with its allies. Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party faction chose to stay away, following the tradition of not contesting bypolls after a death. Congress chose a different path. It stepped in, knowing it would step out later.

This was not about respecting tradition. It was about using the moment.

By doing this, Congress kept the spotlight on the FIR issue and put pressure on the BJP. But while Congress looked confident from the outside, it also showed internal cracks. Some leaders felt the party should not contest the election, while the state leadership wanted to go ahead. This showed that even within Congress, there were different opinions.

At the same time, this strategy put Ajit Pawar's own family in a difficult position. By strongly demanding an FIR, Congress created a contrast. The Opposition seemed more vocal about accountability than the leader's own allies. It raised a simple question: if even rivals are asking questions, why is there silence within?

Asking for an FIR sounds simple and fair. No government can openly oppose it. But it creates pressure. If the government agrees, it looks like it has given in. If it does not, it looks careless. Either way, the Opposition controls the narrative.

Congress added to this by pointing to Karnataka, where an FIR had reportedly been filed. Whether both cases are exactly the same does not matter. The comparison itself creates doubt.

It has also been over a month since the BJP's ally, Ajit Pawar's NCP, demanded a CBI probe into the plane crash. Yet, no decision has been taken. This delay raises questions about intent and urgency.

The government has called the Karnataka FIR illegal and politically motivated. But by then, the damage was already done.

A legal issue had turned into a political issue. And this is where Congress benefits. If an FIR is filed, it takes credit. If not, it keeps attacking.

Either way, it does not need to win Baramati to come out ahead.

For the government, the real problem is perception. Even if there are valid reasons for delay, silence creates doubt. And in politics, doubt spreads faster than facts.

Congress understood this well. Voters may not know every legal detail, but they understand delay, silence, and hesitation. This creates a gap in trust. By focusing on the missing FIR again and again, Congress made sure people kept noticing this gap.

Baramati shows how quickly politics can change. Something like a missing FIR, which would normally stay within files, has become the centre of an election.

This is how politics works today. It is not just about rallies or candidates. It is about finding one strong issue and building everything around it.

Congress did not need to win the election. It only needed to control the story, and it did.

Baramati is not just a byelection. It is a lesson in modern politics. Because sometimes, the real contest is not on the ballot. It is in the story people choose to believe.

Sanjeev Shivadekar is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @SanjeevShivadek
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