Dr Aniket Deshmukh expresses keenness to contest LS polls from Madha

In a significant political development, Dr Aniket Deshmukh, grandson of late Ganpatrao Deshmukh, leader of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), has expressed his keenness to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha (LS) elections from the Madha seat. Deshmukh’s announcement came after a crucial meeting with veteran politician Sharad Pawar at Baramati on Sunday.

The Madha constituency has drawn considerable attention in recent times due to its dynamic political situation. Deshmukh’s declaration to contest from this constituency has added to the confusion among voters.

Speaking about this, Deshmukh said, “Today, I met Pawar Saheb and expressed willingness to contest from the Madha seat. We have conveyed our party stand about the Madha seat in front of Pawar Saheb.”

When asked about Dhairyashil Mohite-Patil, who is also interested in contesting from Madha and has conveyed his willingness to contest to Pawar, Deshmukh said, “While working in the politics of Solapur district, we have family relations with the Mohite-Patil family. As of today, they are not in our alliance and hence, I cannot comment more on it.”

Deshmukh, who represented the PWP in the Sangola legislative assembly in 2019, lost to Shahaji Bapu Patil from the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) by a margin of only 768 votes. Interestingly, none of the above (NOTA) got 700 votes.

Addressing the media after his meeting with Sharad Pawar, Deshmukh affirmed his readiness to take on the electoral challenge. He emphasised that his decision to contest from Madha was taken after considering public sentiments in the constituency.

After the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) announced Ranjitsingh Nimbalkar’s candidature, there has been major disappointment from the Mohite-Patil and Ram Raje Nimbalkar groups. Discussion of the defection of Dhairyashil Mohite-Patil and his followers into the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP has been underway, amid Deshmukh expressing wiliness to contest.