Ralegan sarpanch bows out of poll race

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare’s ill-health has forced Jaysingh Mapari, the sarpanch Ralegan Siddhi, to withdraw his nomination for the upcoming Zilla Parishad polls.

Mapari was the official candidate of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the Parner gat of the Ahmednagar Zilla Parishad.

While speaking to DNA, Mapari claimed that his decision was influenced by Hazare’s ill-health as well as the in-fighting within the NCP about his candidature.

“With Anna undergoing treatment in Delhi, it would not have been proper for me to undertake extensive election campaigning. All of us in the village are worried about Anna’s health,” Mapari said.

About the in-fighting within the party, he said, “Although I have the full confidence in Sharad and Ajit Pawar, the local leaders protested against my candidature. Some leaders close to Parner’s former MLA, Vasant Dhaware, had fielded themselves as rebel candidates which I did not like.”

He also claimed that senior leaders of the party had asked him repeatedly not to withdraw his nomination.

Mapari’s decision to fight from the NCP had drawn severe criticism from many sectors given the strained relation between Hazare and Pawar. The veteran Gandhian had accused Pawar of being “corrupt and shielding the corrupt”.

Also, his apparent tongue-in-cheek dig at the incident of Pawar being slapped by a youth had drawn angry response from the party cadets.