Sanjay Kaka Patil joins NCP, to contest from Tasgaon

PUNE:  The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday announced its second list of seven candidates for the upcoming assembly elections. Notably, the list features former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sanjay Kaka Patil, who recently joined the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. Patil is set to contest from the Tasgaon-Kavthe Mahankal assembly seat, where he will face off against Rohit Patil, the son of late NCP leader and home minister RR Patil. 

In addition to Patil, the NCP has fielded Nishikant Patil from Islampur in Sangli. Nishikant was Sangli district head of the BJP and joined the NCP and will challenge Jayant Patil, the state chief of NCP (SP). 

Sanjay Kaka Patil was a former Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangli constituency.  

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election he was defeated by Congress rebel candidate Vishal Patil by a margin of 1 lakh votes. Ahead of state assembly polls, Patil was seeking an assembly election ticket for his son Prabhakar from the Tasgaon-Kavthe Mahankal assembly seat. However, in the Maha Yuti seat-sharing formula, the seat went to the NCP. 

Last week, Patil met Ajit Pawar in Mumbai and conveyed that his son Prabhakar was willing to contest on NCP’s ticket. Sources confirmed that Pawar insisted Sanjay Kaka Patil to contest the election himself instead of his son. Considering the new political arrangements, finally, on Friday, Sanjay Kaka joined NCP, and his candidature was announced along with others. 

Tasgaon-Kavthe Mahankal witnessed political rivalry between the late RR Patil and Sanjay Kaka Patil family. Now after the announcement of Sanjay Kaka Patil’s candidature, the constituency will again witness a high-profile battle between two Patil families.   

Ajitrao Ghorpade Sarkar, another political heavyweight from Tasgaon-Kavthe Mahankal constituency also joined NCP along with Patil. 

Sanjay Kaka Patil said, “Before joining the NCP, Ghorpade Sarkar and I sat together and discussed new political equations. We have decided to join NCP, which is also part of the Mahayuti.’’  

Sources close to Sanjay Kaka said that he will submit his nomination papers on Tuesday. 

Commenting on Sanjay Kaka Patil’s candidacy, Rohit Patil stated, “When he (Sanjaykaka Patil) contested against my father, people were aware and made decisions accordingly. I believe they will do the same this time as well,” Rohit Patil said. 

In Islampur, NCP (SP) state chief Jayant Patil will face off against Nishikant Patil, who joined the NCP after the seat was allotted to them as per the Maha Yuti seat-sharing formula.