Mumbai: In a strange move, the wife of BJP candidate Sujay Vikhe-Patil has filed her nomination from Ahmednagar constituency on the party’s ticket. Dhanashri Vikhe-Patil’s last-minute move is a surprising one considering her husband has filed his nomination from the same constituency.
Thursday was the last day to file nominations for the third phase of elections.
Ahmednagar is the bastion of the Vikhe-Patils and the family is traditionally considered to be Congress supporters. Sujay Vikhe-Patil’s father, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, is the leader of the opposition in Maharashtra and a stalwart of the Congress party.
The fight in Ahmednagar is a closely watched one. It became even more interesting after Sujay Vikhe-Patil recently switched over to the BJP in the hope of receiving a Lok Sabha ticket. While Sujay Vikhe-Patil was keen on getting a ticket, the Ahmednagar seat was allotted to the Nationalist Congress Party during its seat-sharing discussions with the Congress. A running feud between NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s family and the Vikhe-Patils meant Sujay was left without a ticket, which gave him the opportunity to move to the BJP.
The NCP has fielded Sangram Jagtap, the son of party strongman Arun Jagtap, against Sujay Vikhe-Patil. The BJP leader’s camp said it feared foul play and the possibility that his form could be rejected on technical grounds.
“That is because we feel that the opposition can stoop to any level. What if they resort to some crooked trick? What if Sujay’s form gets rejected on technical grounds?" sources close to Sujay Vikhe-Patil told CNN-News18.
When asked how two candidates can fill forms from the same party, the source said, “Anyway, after the screening process, the candidate is given the opportunity to furnish the AB form.”
Sujay Vikhe-Patil was not available for comments.
Comments
0 comment