Sanjay Dutt, Hussain Dalwai, and Pune’s former Mayor Dipti Chaudhary have made the cut out of a long list of over 120 aspirants who had formally applied for the party ticket.
Two Mumbaikars and a Puneite have got Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s nod as candidates for the elections to the state legislative council.
Sitting member Sanjay Dutt and party spokesperson Hussain Dalwai from Mumbai, and Pune’s former Mayor Dipti Chaudhary have made the cut out of a long list of over 120 aspirants who had formally applied for the party ticket. Chaudhary’s nomination comes as a surprise, as at the time of the formal announcement of the list of candidates, there was virtually no information about her in the party headquarters.
The nominations represent a status quo in the party’s pattern of picking candidates. Dalwai comes in place of Muzaffar Hussain and Chaudhary replaces Madhu Jain. So, the quota of a minority and a woman candidate has remained intact, although the faces have changed.
This also shows that the party leadership has largely struck to the old pattern and ignored the regional claims from Vidarbha and Marathwada. Former Union minister and Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi appears to be the only gainer in the process, as Chaudhary had his backing.
With this announcement, the Congress has gone a step ahead of its alliance partner, the NCP, in finalising its approach to these biennial elections. The NCP leadership is expected to take a decision in a day or two.
Elections have to be held for ten seats. The numbers game allows the Congress to get three and the NCP two clear seats. There is a fair chance that another seat can be captured by the alliance if there is an understanding between the two.
With the Congress announcing only three candidates, speculation about the fourth comes to an end. But party sources maintain that in the event of the NCP agreeing to extend its support, a decision could be taken later.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also finalised its two candidates, fielding Shobhatai Fadnavis and Dhanajay Munde.
BJP treasurer Piyush Goyal has been named for the Rajya Sabha seat. Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha candidate is Sanjay Raut, while Diwakar Raote and Anil Parab are its legislative council candidates.
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