Abhijit Bichukale, who is known for his appearances on Bigg Boss 15 and Bigg Boss Marathi, has filed his nomination for the Maharashtra Assembly elections from the Baramati seat in Pune district as an independent candidate.
Bichukale had contested the Lok Sabha polls from Satara earlier this year. However, he polled a mere 1,395 votes, 5,69,739 fewer than the winner, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Bichukale had earlier contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Satara, the 2019 Assembly elections from Worli and the Kasba Assembly bypoll in 2023. However, he has never tasted success.
Earlier on Monday, NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar filed his nomination from the Baramati seat. He is contesting against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the son of his younger brother, Shrinivas Pawar, who is the NCP-SP candidate.
This is a repeat of the familial battle, as Baramati also saw a high-profile battle in the Lok Sabha elections, where Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar contested against Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule. Sule won the contest by 1.5 lakh votes.
The elections to 288 seats in Maharashtra are scheduled for November 20. Votes will be counted three days later.
