Ex-Sikkim guv Shriniwas Patil to fight Satara bypoll from NCP?

After former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan refused to contest the bypoll for Satara Lok Sabha constituency, Shriniwas Patil, a senior Nationalist Congress Party

After former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan refused to contest the bypoll for Satara Lok Sabha constituency, Shriniwas Patil, a senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former MP, is likely to be the party’s candidate.

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If he agrees to contest, he will face Udayanraje Bhonsle, who resigned from Lok Sabha and NCP to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), within four months of the general elections.

“The party leadership is deliberating on Patil’s name, as they have no option left, with Chavan opting out of the contest. Earlier, there were discussions on fielding Sarang, Patil’s son from the seat, but local leaders are not sure whether he [Sarang] can prove to a better choice than his father,” said an NCP functionary, requesting anonymity.

Patil is a two-term MP from Karad Lok Sabha constituency, which was merged with Satara constituency during the delimitation of seats taken up by the election commission in 2008. The 78-year-old former IAS officer was also the governor of Sikkim from 2013 to 2018.

On Tuesday, Chavan declared that he was contesting the state Assembly elections and will file his nomination on October 3. “There was a proposal that the Congress should contest the Satara bypolls and I should be its candidate. I was called by the party president [Sonia Gandhi] in Delhi to discuss the matter. After deliberations with senior leaders, colleagues and local leaders, I have decided to contest the Assembly polls,” he said.

Chavan represents Karad South Assembly seat, which is one of the six Assembly seats that are part of Satara Lok Sabha constituency, which fell vacant after Bhonsle’s resignation.

In the seat-sharing agreement between the Congress and NCP, Satara Lok Sabha seat comes in NCP’s quota.

However, the NCP had proposed to leave the seat for the Congress and suggested former chief minister’s name [Prithviraj Chavan]. The stand was taken as the party doesn’t have a strong candidate who can give a tough fight to Bhonsle, said a senior NCP leader.

Later in the evening, Congress declared Prithviraj Chavan as its candidate from Karad South constituency for the state Assembly elections.