The BJP suffered a setback in western Maharashtra as its district general secretary, Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil, quit the party and joined Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
Patil has now been named NCP candidate from Madha Lok Sabha constituency, against sitting BJP MP Ranjeetsinh Naik Nimbalkar.
Soon after joining the party, in the presence of NCP state president Jayant Patil, Dhairyasheel targeted incumbent MP Ranjitsinh Nimbalkar over Bhima-Cauvery river project.
Dhairyasheel is the nephew of former Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysingh Mohite-Patil and cousin of BJP legislator Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar held meetings with Vijaysingh Mohite Patil and senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde over Madha and Solapur Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. Taking Mohite with the NCP, Sharad Pawar is said to have strengthened another stronghold for Mahavikas Aghadi in the western region.
Pawar said that candidates from both Solapur and Madha Lok Sabha constituencies will submit the election form together on April 16 after conducting a press conference.
Former Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s daughter and MLA Praniti Shinde is contesting the Solapur Lok Sabha seat. In both Solapur and Madha constituencies, the fight is directly with BJP candidates.
In 2019, Devendra Fadnavis secured Mohite’s support to elect Ranjit Singh Nimbalkar from Madha. After offering MLC to senior Mohite’s son, nephew preferred to be with Sharad Pawar for 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
MADHA: TRICKY SEAT TO CONTEST
Sharad Pawar won for the first time in 2009 from this constituency, which was formed in 2008. This time, he reserved his home turf, Baramati Lok Sabha seat, for daughter Supriya Sule. In 2014, prominent leader VijaySinh Mohite Patil became MP from this constituency on the NCP ticket against the Modi wave. But after 2019, Mohite left Pawar’s side and went with the BJP. In this Lok Sabha constituency, there are four assembly constituencies in Solapur and two in Satara.
DHANAGAR AND MARATHA COMBINATION
Sharad Pawar convinced Dhanagar community leader Mahadev Jankar to contest from Madha Lok Sabha constituency. Four meetings were held between Mahadev Jankar and Sharad Pawar. But after a meeting with Devendra Fadnavis, Jankar announced his decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Parbhani. After this, Sharad Pawar was looking for a new candidate from the Madha constituency, which he himself contested in 2009.