 "Maharashtra polls: NCP's first list out, Ajit Pawar to fight from Baramati")
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday released its first list of 38 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Pawar is set to contest the prized family seat Baramati, from where his wife was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections.
Ajit Pawar, who rebelled against his uncle Sharad Pawar and caused a split in the NCP in 2023, had fielded his wife Sunetra from Baramati against his cousin Supriya Sule in the general elections in June. Supriya secured a massive victory from the seat, defeating her sister-in-law by a margin of over 150,000 votes.
NCP renominates 26 sitting MLAs
The party has renominated 26 sitting MLAs, including leaders who had sided with Ajit Pawar during the rebellion. The party has also given tickets to sitting MLAs Sulbha Khodke (Amravati) and Hiraman Khoskar (Igatpuri), who switched over from the Congress recently.
From Navapur, the NCP has named Congress veteran late Manikrao Gavit’s son Bharat. Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, who recently made headlines for his protest against the inclusion of the Dhangar community in the quota for tribals, will contest the polls from Dindori. State Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has been fielded from Yeola.
Former Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajkumar Badole will contest the elections from Arjuni-Morgaon. State minister Dilip Walse Patil will contest from Ambegaon. The elections will be held in Maharashtra in a single phase on November 20. The results will be announced on November 23, alongside Jharkhand.
Shiv Sena leader and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion had ousted the Uddhav Thackeray government in 2022, will contest from Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency to seek a full term