India, April 9 -- A day before the deadline to withdraw nominations for the Baramati assembly byelection expires on Thursday, deputy chief minister and the NCP's bypoll candidate Sunetra Pawar on Wednesday called up Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, seeking the grand old party's support for her unopposed victory. Sapkal, however, suggested she get in touch with the top Congress leadership, sources in the NCP and Congress told Hindustan Times.

The development came hours after Pawar met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday afternoon, NCP insiders said.

The bypoll, scheduled for April 23, was necessitated by the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28. While the NCP had hop...