Three-time Shiv Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil has officially joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday. He is set to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Shirur in Pune district, challenging sitting MP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Amol Kolhe.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kolhe, a renowned Marathi actor known for his portrayals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in movies and television serials, defeated Adhalrao Patil by over 58,000 votes.
Previously, Adhalrao Patil had served as an MP thrice. He emerged victorious from Khed in 2004. However, after the delimitation in 2008, Shirur became a separate constituency. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Adhalrao Patil secured his second victory, defeating NCP's Vilas Lande by nearly 1.8 lakh votes. In the 2014 election, he defeated Devdatta Nikam of NCP by a margin of over three lakh votes.
Following the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022, Adhalrao Patil initially remained with Uddhav Thackeray before aligning with the Shinde faction of the party. However, with the Shirur seat allocated to Ajit Pawar's NCP in the seat-sharing talks among the ruling Mahayuti partners, Adhalrao Patil has now joined the NCP. He expressed confidence, stating that he sees the contest with Kolhe as an opportunity to win by a significant margin.
Earlier, Ajit Pawar, reportedly displeased with Kolhe for declining to align with him, vowed to ensure his defeat. Without directly mentioning Kolhe, Pawar commented, "If an MP had paid attention to his constituency in five years, it would have benefited. That MP was given a ticket by me. Dilip Walse-Patil and I put in our best efforts to ensure his election." Pawar also claimed that Kolhe wanted to resign as "his movies were getting affected."
In response, Kolhe released a video attacking the Deputy CM, stating, "If I was going to resign, did I stop going to Parliament? Did I stop speaking in Parliament? Did I stop raising questions in Parliament? If you look at it in its entirety, my work is better than your party's state chief (Sunil Tatkare). Besides, if you thought I would resign, why did you send emissaries 10 times to urge me to join your party?"
What do the numbers say?
The Shirur Lok Sabha constituency comprises six Assembly segments: Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed Alandi, Shirur, Bhosari, and Hadapsar. Except for Bhosari, all five of the Assembly seats are held by the NCP. Atul Benke serves as the MLA from Junnar, Dilip Walse-Patil from Ambegaon, Dilip Mohite-Patil from Khed Alandi, Ashok Pawar from Shirur, and Chetan Tupe from Hadapsar. Bhosari is represented by BJP's Mahesh Landge.
Meanwhile, Dilip Mohite-Patil had strongly opposed Adhalrao Patil's induction into the NCP. However, after meeting Ajit Pawar, Mohite-Patil stated that despite his rivalry with Adhalrao Patil, he would be campaigning for the Mahayuti candidate.
It will be interesting to see who clinches this high-profile seat, as the competition is expected to be intense and could come down to the wire in a nail-biting contest.
