Triangular Contest Expected in Gangakhed Assembly Constituency as Key Candidates Face Off

After the withdrawal of candidature on Monday, a triangular fight is expected in the Gangakhed assembly constituency in Parbhani district. The three major candidates in the fray are Mahayuti-sponsored Rashtriya Samaj Party candidate and sitting MLA Ratnakar Gutte, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate and former MLA Sitaram Ghandat, and Mahavikas Aghadi candidate Vishal Kadam.

MLA Gutte is contesting from the Gangakhed constituency for the third time and is aiming for a hat-trick in this constituency. However, this time he faces strong opposition from Vishal Kadam and Ghandat. Hence, a triangular fight is expected.

Additionally, former BJP district president Vitthal Rabdade is contesting from the Janhit Democratic Party, and Rupesh Manoharrao Deshmukh is contesting from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Six candidates are running as independents. The division of votes is inevitable, and the major candidates may suffer losses due to the fragmentation of votes.

An important aspect of this election is the absence of the three major party symbols—Shiv Sena's bow and arrow, Congress' hand, and NCP's clock—from the ballot units in this constituency. None of the candidates in this election represent these three parties. Gutte is contesting on the auto-rickshaw symbol, Ghandat on the gas cylinder symbol, and previously, Mahadev Jaankar, the founder president of the Rashtriya Samaj Party, had contested the Lok Sabha election on the whistle symbol. Now, Madhav Sopanrao Shinde, a candidate of the Rashtriya Maratha Party, has been allotted the whistle symbol for the assembly polls.