Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar faces a challenge from the BJP in his ancestral village of Katewadi even as 2,359 Gram Panchayats in the state are scheduled to go for polls on Sunday (November 5).
Baramati is the bastion of DCM Pawar. The Katewadi is the ancestral village of the Pawar family. Ajit Pawar had been controlling the village panchayat for the past several years. After the split in the party, the village panchayat has gone to Ajit Pawar faction. However, despite being together in the ruling alliance of the state, the BJP has posed a tough challenge to the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP in Katewadi, where the prime contest is between the Ajit Pawar faction and the panel supported by the BJP. The contest is likely to be very tough, the local sources have said.
As per the election program, about 2,950 village panchayat members are to be elected in 2,359 villages. Also, 130 vacancies of Sarpanch posts too are to be filled. Voting is to take place for all these posts, the state election commission has said. The voting will take place from 7.30 am to 5 pm on November 5, except Gadchiroli, where the voting will take place till 3 pm. The counting is scheduled to take place on Monday, November 6.
