Prithviraj Chavan will face the toughest political battle of his career as he contests the assembly polls for the first time. For, there are several bigwigs from the NCP, the Shiv Sena, and the BJP in the fray apart from two Congress rebels.
The 68-year-old chief minister filed his nomination paper on a Congress ticket on Saturday from Karad (South) constituency.
One of the Congress rebels is sitting MLA Vilaskaka Undalkar-Patil, 76, who has won the elections seven times in the past. He will contest the polls as an Independent. The other is Dr Atul Bhosale who will fight the polls on a BJP ticket.
The Sena has fielded Ajinkya Patil, son of DY Patil, governor of Bihar. Also, the NCP and the MNS would field candidates against Chavan.
Political analysts say Chavan will have to struggle a lot to win this high-profile constituency. Recently, several Congress leaders and workers from Karad sent their resignations to MPCC president Manikrao Thakre to protest against the party's decision to not give a ticket to Undalkar-Patil.
A close aide of the Congress rebel said: "Kaka (Undalkar-Patil) has vowed to defeat Chavan. Kaka's son Uday was implicated in a murder case by the Chavan government. Uday has been in jail for two years. This has hurt Kaka, and the world will see the fate of the chief minister. We will send him back to Delhi again."
Ajinkya Patil told dna over the phone from Karad that it was his personal choice to join the Sena. "It has nothing to do with my family. I have spent some years abroad... and I saw how infrastructure, healthcare and education are tremendously developed. I want to get such things done here," he said. "I will not make allegations against anyone. I will approach the voters with an agenda for development. I have faith in the people of Karad... they will definitely support me."
This election is a matter of prestige for Chavan and he has to win it at any cost, said an analyst. After taking over as the CM, he regularly kept in touch with the people in Karad and approved maximum projects for Karad.
The NCP too wants to defeat Chavan. Ajit Pawar has blamed Chavan for the rift in the Congress-NCP alliance.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}