Jaysingh Mapari, sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi village and a close aide of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, is likely to contest the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections on a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket.
Hazare gave the green signal when Marpari met him with the request after he returned to the village from a Pune hospital.
The move to field a member of the Anna camp took shape in the first week of November when NCP leader and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar met Hazare at Ralegan and a group of villagers urged him to field Mapari in the ZP elections.
Mapari has sought an NCP nomination from Wadegavhan in Parner taluka, Ahmednagar district. He has been the sarpanch of Ralegan for over a year and was the deputy sarpanch for almost a decade.
Hazare has been a bitter critic of the NCP, and its chief Sharad Pawar in particular, for over two decades. He had come under severe attack for his comment 'Sirf ek hi mara? (only one?)' when a youth slapped the Union agriculture minister in New Delhi.
When asked about the bitter relationship between Hazare and the Pawar camp, Mapari said, "Ajit Pawar had publicly supported Hazare for his Jantar Mantar fast. There was an incident due to which sentiments of both sides were hurt, but that has been sorted out."
{{/usCountry}}When asked about the bitter relationship between Hazare and the Pawar camp, Mapari said, "Ajit Pawar had publicly supported Hazare for his Jantar Mantar fast. There was an incident due to which sentiments of both sides were hurt, but that has been sorted out."
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