Three-time Shiv Sena (United) MP Shivajrao Adhalrao will formally join the NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday.
Adhalrao, who will join the NCP in the presence of Ajit Pawar, will contest the Lok Sabah elections as the NCP (AP) nominee from the Shirur constituency in Pune district against NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate and sitting MP Amol Kolhe. Adhalrao's move to join the NCP has been cleared by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Adhalrao had left the NCP in 2004 and joined the Shiv Sena before he went on to win from Shirur on a Sena ticket in 20019 and 1014. Later, he remained with the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray for a while before migrating to the Shinde faction of the party.
Kolhe vs Adhalrao
This indicates that Adhalrao Patil will be in direct competition with sitting MP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Amol Kolhe. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kolhe, a popular Marathi actor renowned for his portrayals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in movies and television serials, defeated Adhalrao Patil by over 58,000 votes.
Prior to that, Adhalrao Patil had served as a three-time MP. In 2004, he emerged victorious from Khed. However, following the delimitation in 2008, Shirur was established as a separate constituency. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Adhalrao Patil secured his second victory, defeating NCP's Vilas Lande nearly 1.8 lakh votes. In the 2014 election, he defeated Devdatta Nikam of NCP by a margin of over three lakh votes.
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's induction into the NCP. However, after meeting Ajit Pawar on Wednesday, Mohite-Patil stated that despite his rivalry with Adhalrao, he would be campaigning for the Mahayuti candidate.
