New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Bombay High Court order asking the Election Commission to immediately hold the bypoll for the Pune Lok Sabha seat, which is vacant since March 29, 2023 after the death of MP Girish Bapat.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submission of the poll panel that the tenure of the present Lok Sabha is ending on June 16 this year and the bypoll will be a futile exercise at this point in time. The top court, however, questioned the delay on part of the poll panel in holding the bypoll for the seat.
On 29 March 2023, Girish Bapat (73) died in Pune due to prolonged illness. He was recognised as the most powerful face of the BJP. He was elected in 2019 Lok Sabha general elections. Earlier, he was elected for five times continuously to state Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2014. He was given state funeral with full honors by Maharashtra Government.
From 2009-2014, Bapat also served as a state minister in BJP-led government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
After entering politics in the 1980s, Bapat was first elected in 1983 to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) as a corporator. Prior to being elected as an MLA from the Kasba Assembly constituency, he was elected as a corporator three times in a row.
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