Ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Opposition is looking for a strong candidate for the Satara Lok Sabha bypolls to be held on October 21.
According to Hindustan Times, the Opposition is considering names of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and former chief minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan to contest against Udayanraje Bhosale, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s 13th descendant. Bhosale resigned as an MP, after winning the constituency three times on an NCP ticket and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party last week.
The Congress and NCP, who are contesting the Maharashtra Assembly polls together, have started to look for strong face to retain the Satara Lok Sabha seat, which the alliance has been winning for six decades. The Congress is likely to decide on the candidature during its top-level meeting in Delhi on Thursday. The Hindustan Times report also said that Pawar has reportedly spoken to interim chief of Congress Sonia Gandhi requesting her to field Chavan. Even a section in the NCP and Congress also want Pawar to contest the bypoll against Bhosale.
In the meanwhile, Chavan has said that he is not interested in contesting from Satara instead he wants to contest from Karad South constituency. Chavan told Hindustan Times, “I have already made it clear that I am interested in contesting from Karad South constituency I represented in the Assembly. I have not been conveyed anything about the bypoll by my party leadership. We are meeting in Delhi on Thursday and this is expected to be discussed.”
