Gauri Lankesh murder accused Shrikant Pangarkar joins Shinde-led Shiv Sena, heads Jalna campaign

JALNA: Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, joined chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Jalna on Friday.
Lankesh was shot dead outside her Bengaluru home on Sept 5, 2017. A probe by police in Karnataka, with assistance from agencies in Maharashtra, led to the arrest of several persons, including Pangarkar, a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001 and 2006.Pangarkar, who was arrested in Aug 2018, was granted bail by Karnataka high court on Sept 4 this year.
After he was denied a ticket by Shiv Sena in 2011, Pangarkar joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti.
On Friday, he joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar. "Pangarkar is a former Shiv Sainik and has returned to the party. He has been nominated as the chief of the Jalna assembly poll campaign," said Khotkar.
Khotkar also said that he wants to contest the assembly poll from Jalna, but added that seat-sharing discussions in the Mahayuti — the ruling alliance comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP — were still underway. The seat is held by Congress' Kailash Gorantyal.
Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on Nov 20, while results will be declared on Nov 23. The term of the current assembly ends on Nov 26.