Vishal Patil enters poll fray, set to file another set as Cong candidate on Tuesday
Patil is set to submit another set of nomination form on Tuesday as the Congress candidate even as the party has not given him the AB form
Amid attempts to placate him, Vishal Patil, the Congress aspirant for ticket, submitted his nomination papers as an independent candidate for Sangli parliamentary seat on Monday.
Patil is set to submit another set of nomination form on Tuesday as the Congress candidate even as the party has not given him the AB form, which denotes that the candidate has been approved by a political party and should be allotted the election symbol of that party.
Grandson of Vasantdada Patil, Vishal Patil plans to exercise show of strength while filing the nomination papers.
“I have completed all documentation process and, on Tuesday, plan to file nomination papers as Congress candidate with our supporters after taking blessings of Ganpati Bappa,” Patil said.
Patil’s presence in the electoral fray will make the contest triangular and is likely to result into division of votes for Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Chandrahar Patil. The BJP has fielded sitting MP Sanjaykaka Patil here.
Despite the Congress insistence, Sena refused to concede the seat to alliance partner and announced Chandrahar’s nomination, causing uneasiness in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Nana Patole, president, Congress state unit, said, “Such things happen in alliance politics. Till the last minute we took efforts to retain the seat. We are trying to placate Vishal Patil and ensure the MVA candidate gets elected from Sangli.”
Patole said the party leadership will try to convince Vishal Patil to withdraw from the race.
Post Vishal Patil’s filing nomination, the Congress leaders and workers boycotted Chandrahar’s public meeting at Sangli. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leaders were present at the rally.
Chandrahar said, “If my candidature is creating disturbance for them, then I am ready to withdraw provided the Congress comes forward and announce that they do not want a farmer’s son to become an MP.”
Chandrahar, wrestler and two-time winner of Maharashtra Kesari, hails from an agrarian family.
Taking a dig at Vishal Patil, Chandrahar said, “I am not the grandson of chief minister. I don’t have any mill. I am the only alliance candidate whose candidature was announced four times and even after that our alliance partner (Congress) kept distance from us.”
Vishal Patil contested polls as candidate of Swabhimani Party and lost to BJP’s Sanjaykaka Patil in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, Vilasrao Jagtap, former BJP MLA from Jat in Sangli, tendered his resignation of party membership and decided to support Congress leader Vishal Patil.
