NAGPUR: In a bold political move, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Abha Pande filed her nomination today as an independent candidate for the East Nagpur assembly seat.
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officially renominating sitting MLA Krishna Khopde, Pande has chosen to enter the fray, becoming the first rebel candidate from Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP. Her decision to run independently signals a significant challenge to the party leadership.
Speaking to TOI after submitting her nomination form at the district collectorate following a vehicle rally from Wardhaman Nagar, Pande confirmed her determination to contest the election."I have made up my mind to run from East Nagpur, regardless of whether the party officially backs me. I am standing up for the people here," she declared. Her rally marked the start of what promises to be a contentious campaign.
Pande further explained that since joining the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, now an ally of the Mahayuti, she had made her intentions clear about contesting the East Nagpur assembly seat.
"I had sought the party ticket as well, but the BJP declared its sitting MLA Krishna Khopde as the candidate for this seat," she said. "As the people of this constituency wanted me to fight the election, I too dared to take the step," she added.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), meanwhile, is yet to declare its candidate for this seat. NCP Sharad Pawar faction leader Duneshwar Pethe is considered the front runner for the ticket, though Congress' former corporator Purshottam Hazare, who was the runner-up in the last assembly polls, is also seeking the party's nomination.