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Satara LS by-polls: NCP’s between the devil and the deep blue sea choice
Party is considering giving a ticket to Sikkim’s former governor Srinivas Patil, or sitting MLA Shashikant Shinde, to take on Bhosale for the Satara Lok Sabha seat, say NCP leaders
The Election Commission on Tuesday announced by-elections for the Satara Lok Sabha seat, necessitated due to the resignation of Udayanraje Bhosale, after her joined the BJP from the NCP.
NCP leaders, speaking anonymously, said the party is considering giving a ticket to Sikkim’s former governor Srinivas Patil, or sitting MLA Shashikant Shinde, to take on Bhosale for the Satara Lok Sabha seat.
Udyanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji was elected representing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) during the recently held LS polls, after which, on September 14, he joined the BJP in the presence of its president and home minister, Amit Shah.
Amidst much drama at the time, Bhosale submitted his resignation to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla at midnight in Delhi, in the presence of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Fadnavis and Udyanraje chartered a plane from Pune to be in Delhi.
Srinivas Patil said, “I am ready to contest the Lok Sabha election if NCP leader Sharad Pawar asks me to. Pawar will take the appropriate decision about the candidate.”
Patil, a former IAS officer joined the NCP in 1999 and has represented Karad at the Lok Sabha twice, from 1999 to 2004, and 2004 to 2009.
Shashikant Shinde, the sitting MLA from Satara, whose name is also in the hat, said, “If NCP and Pawar ask me to contest, I am ready to contest the election for the Satara Lok Sabha seat.”
NCP sources also said that Pawar was keen that former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, from the Congress, contest against Bhosale, but Chavan has already made it clear that he is preparing for the Assembly elections and will contest the Karad assembly seat.
Satara Lok Sabha by-poll
Date of elections: October 21
Date for results October 24
