Maha polls: NCP releases first list of 38, Ajit Pawar to contest from Baramati

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday released the first list of its 38 candidates, including party president Ajit Pawar from Baramati, for the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled for November 20.

The party has renominated its ministers and most of the sitting legislators except Manohar Chandrikapure, who has been denied a ticket from Arjuni Morgaon in Gondia district where the former BJP Minister Rajkumar Badole has been fielded. Badole had joined the party on Tuesday.

The party has given tickets to four women candidates.

Ajit Pawar has preferred continuity by renominating most of its legislators who remained with him after he staged a rebellion against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar in June 2023. Ajit Pawar along with 41 legislators joined the MahaYuti.

Ajit Pawar, who earlier had hogged the headlines after he declared that he may not contest from Baramati, has been renominated from the same seat.

The working president, Praful Patel had declared that Ajit Pawar would fight from Baramati and, thereafter, Ajit Pawar on October 11 said that he would follow the party’s decision. Ajit Pawar is expected to take on the estranged uncle and NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s grand nephew Yogendra Pawar from the Baramati seat.

The other ministers, who have been renominated, include Chhagan Bhujbal (Yevala), Dilip Walse-Patil (Ambegaon), Hasan Mushrif (Kagal), Dhananjay Munde (Parali), Dharmaraobaba Atram (Aheri), Aditi Tatkare (Shrivardhan), Anil Patil (Amalner) and Sanjay Bansode (Udgir). The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal will fight again from the Dindori constituency.

The NCP has renominated Prakash Solanke (Majalgaon) despite his announcement to retire from electoral politics and request to field his nephew.

The other candidates include Makarand Patil (Wai), Manikrao Kokate (Sinnar), Dilip Mohite (Khed Anandi), Sangram Jagtap (Ahmednagar City), Dattatray Bharane (Indapur), Balasaheb Patil (Ahmedpur), Daulat Daroda (Shahapur), Anna Bansode (Pimpri), Nitin Pawar (Kalvan), Ashutosh Kale (Kopargaon), Kiran Lahamate (Akole), Shekhar Nikam (Chiplun), Atul Benke (Junnar), Yashwant Mane (Mohol), Chetan Tupe (Hadapsar), Saroj Ahire (Devlali), Rajesh Patil (Chandgad), Hiraman Khoskar, who recently quit Congress and joined NCP (Igatpuri), Raju Karemore (Tumsar), Indranil Naik (Pusad), Bharat Gavit, who is the son of former Union Minister Manikrao Gavit (Navapur), Nirmala Vitekar (Pathari) and Najeeb Mulla (Kalwa-Mumbra).

The NCP has got the Amravati seat in its quota where it has nominated Sulabha Khodke, who was recently suspended by the Congress party. Khodke had won the 2019 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket from the seat.

The party has made a strong case to get 60 seats during its negotiations with BJP and Shiv Sena.

The three MahaYuti partners have yet to arrive at a seat-sharing formula. BJP has already announced its first list of 99 candidates last Sunday while Shiv Sena released its first list of 45 nominees late Tuesday night. Thereafter, NCP released its first list of 38 nominees Wednesday. Together the MahaYuti partners have announced 182 of the total 288 candidates.

--IANS

sj/dpb