Interestingly, the first list of Congress party did not include the sitting Congress MLA and former CM Prithviraj Chavan
The Congress party released 51 candidates' list for Maharashtra State Assembly polls on Sunday evening pinning hopes on the old and trusted faces.
The names included in the list are ex-Congress CM Ashok Chavan, State president Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, sitting MLA Naseem Khan, Varsha Gaikwad, Yashomati Thakur, Sunik Kedar, Harshavardhan Sapkal, Vishavajit Kadam, Praniti Shinde, etc.
Interestingly, the first list of Congress party did not include the sitting Congress MLA and former CM Prithviraj Chavan. Chavan is likely to field from the Satara Lok Sabha polls against former NCP MP and now BJP candidate Udayanraje Bhosale.
Besides, the list has not included the seven sitting MLAs DS Ahir (Sakri), Kashiram Pawara (Shirpur), Aslam Sheikh (Malad), Rahul Bondre (Chikali), Bharat Bhalke (Pandharpur), and Siddharam Mehtre (Akkalkot). Sources in Congress said that these MLAs are likely to switch sides.
"They are not committed to the party ideology and there was news that they are joining the BJP. Therefore, as a cautious approach, the party has decided not to give them a ticket and publish their names in the first list. We will get a clear picture in the next two days," said top sources in Congress.
Cong-NCP have decided to contest 125 each while remaining 38 seats for the smaller allies. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had finalised the 85 names out of 125 while on Sunday, the 51 candidates names are declared. "The remaining names will be declared soon. We are still discussing some seats with our alliance partners," sources added.
The Congress has relied mostly on the old names. Last time in 2014, many Congress candidates lost by small margins. In Bandra (East), ex-Congress member Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan Siddique has been given the ticket who will face Shiv Sena's Trupti Sawant.
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