Nagpur: The Sharad Pawar-led NCP released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. The list, finalised after negotiations with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), includes 45 nominees, with seven from Vidarbha.
As anticipated, senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh was renominated from Katol, where he will seek his sixth term in the assembly.The Katol constituency has been a stronghold for Deshmukh, and the Mahayuti alliance is yet to announce his opponent, adding intrigue to the contest.
Dr Rajendra Shingane, former FDA Minister in the MVA govt, was awarded the Sindkhed Raja seat. Shingane briefly joined the Ajit Pawar faction but returned to Sharad Pawar's camp after attempting to secure financial support for the struggling Buldhana District Central Cooperative Bank.
New faces in the Vidarbha list include Duneshwar Pethe, who will contest from Nagpur East, and Samrat Dongardive, a former leader of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), who will contest from Murtizapur in Akola district.
In Aheri, Bhagyashree Atram Halgekar, daughter of current MLA Dharmrao Baba Atram, will contest for the first time against her father, setting up a potential family face-off.
Charan Waghmare, a former BJP MLA, was granted another chance to contest from Tumsar. He lost the 2019 election by 7,000 votes to NCP's Raju Karemore.
Ravikant Bopche also secured a second nomination from Tirora, where he may once again face BJP's Vijay Rahangdale, who defeated him by over 25,000 votes in 2019.