Satara: Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, whom the BJP on Tuesday fielded from the Satara Lok Sabha seat, expressed confidence that he would win by a margin of more than two lakh votes, and said the constituency was no longer a CongressNCP bastion. Bhosale, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, also said that the situation in the country was favourable for the saffron party. He rejected the criticism over the delay by the BJP in announcing his candidature from Satara. “This is a national election and candidates were announced as per the phases.
Satara votes in the third phase on May 7
Satara votes in the third phase on May 7 and the candidature has been announced at the right time… I am confident of winning the seat by over two lakh votes,” he said. Bhosale said he was the first BJP MLA from Satara in the 1990s. He was also a minister in the Shiv SenaBJP government in the state. He then went on to represent Satara in the Lok Sabha for three terms as a member of the undivided NCP. In 2019, he won the Satara seat as a candidate of the undivided NCP, but resigned within a few months and joined the BJP.
However, in the by-election, Bhosale lost as a BJP candidate to NCP’s Shrinivas Patil. The BJP later nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in April 2020. His term was to end in 2026. “Now, four assembly segments [in Satara] are with the MahaYuti alliance. In Karad North and Karad South, the BJP had secured the second place,” he said. Situation for the BJP was very favourable in Maharashtra and the country, Bhosale said. “Development is the main agenda. Young people are not interested in politics but development as competition is very high,” he said.
