NCP pits Shrinivas Patil against Udayanraje Bhosale in Satara Lok Sabha bypoll

PUNE Shrinivas Patil, a former governor and two-time member of parliament (MP), will contest the Satara Lok Sabha by-election against Udayanraje Bhosale of the Bharatiya

PUNE Shrinivas Patil, a former governor and two-time member of parliament (MP), will contest the Satara Lok Sabha by-election against Udayanraje Bhosale of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. 

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gave the ticket to Patil after former Congress chief minister Prithviraj Chavan expressed his unwillingness to contest the seat, showing instead, a keenness to fight the assembly elections from Karad. 

Patil confirmed that the party has asked him to fill the nomination form and begin his election campaign. 

The Satara bypolls have been necessitated by Udyanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, resigning from the seat on September 14, in turn caused by him abadoning the NCP for the BJP; a move as made in the presence of home minister Amit Shah.

The Satara Lok Sabha bypoll will be held along with the Assembly elections on October 21.

While Bhosale is a resident of Satara and plays the Shivaji Maharaj card to much effect, the NCP and Congress also have a strong base in the constituency.

“NCP has defeated Udyanraje in the past so it will not be difficult to defeat him again in the Lok Sabha election,” is Sharad Pawar’s pronouncement.

Shrinivas Patil, the essential data

IAS officer

Joined the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999

Contested Lok Sabha election from Karad in 1999, and won

In 2004, re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Karad

Former governor of Sikkim (2013-2018)