An activist from the Anna Hazare stable is seeking election ticket from the NCP, whose chief Sharad Pawar has been a target of the social activist.
The candidate in question is Jaisingh Mapari, reportedly a close confidante of Hazare. Mapari is the sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi, which was been at the forefront of the Jan Lok Pal Bill agitation. Now, Mapari wants a ticket from the NCP to contest the Zilla Parishad polls on February 7.
This move, he claims, has the blessings of Hazare himself. “Anna has given his blessings to me. He has also told me that he is not against any political party including the NCP. In fact my candidature was pressed by the villagers of Ralegan Siddhi and Anna has given his nod,” the sarpanch said. Mapari has been the sarpanch for one and a half years, after serving as the deputy sarpanch for eight and half years, he said.
State NCP president Madhukar Pichad said the party will seriously consider Mapari’s candidature.
Mapari has sought a ticket from the Wade Gavhan group of the Parner taluka for the Ahmadnagar zilla parishad. The NCP and the Congress district are not inclined for an alliance in Ahmadnagar.
Mapari said: “Our area receives inadequate rainfall leading to scarcity of water for agriculture and drinking purposes. I plans to focus on watershed development programmes. Also agriculture development is another area. My attempt will be to bring in more and more funds for various development projects in order to give a much needed boost.”
The sarpanch was full of praise for the NCP chief and agriculture minister Pawar. He clarified that during the recent agitation for the Jan Lok Pal Bill, Pawar had never criticised Hazare. State deputy chief minister and Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar had expressed his party’s support for anti-corruption campaign and the suggestions made by Hazare for an effective Lok Pal.