SATARA, January 28: Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar has dominated the list of Congress candidates in the state to take on the ruling BJP-SS alliance. The party high command has not made any major changes in the list recommended by the state election committee.The central election committee, which finalised the list on Monday night, has given priority to political heavyweights over unknown fresh faces. The Congress will contest 40 of the total 48 seats in Maharashtra, while the rest have been left for like-minded parties like the Republican Party of India (RPI) and Samajwadi Party (SP).
The party has already announced names of 12 sitting party members of Parliament (MPs), including Sharad Pawar, AR Antulay, Shivraj Patil, Prithviraj Chavan, Manikrao Gavit and others. The party has now announced names of the remaining 33 constituencies, including former chief minister Sudhakarrao Naik (Washim), former MPCC president Sushilkumar Shinde (Solapur), Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president MurliDeora (Mumbai south), former ministers Datta Meghe (Wardha) and Abhaysinh Raje Bhosale (Satara), a close aide of Sharad Pawar.
Deora will fight from Mumbai south, while Gurudas Kamat will face electoral battle against the BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan in north-east Mumbai. The party will field Ram Pandagale from Mumbai north against BJP stalwart Ram Naik. Mumbai south central and Mumbai north west seats have been allotted to the SP, while the united RPI will fight the Mumbai south central constituency. Thane is another seat reserved for the SP, while Akola, Amarawati and Chimur, all from the Vidarbha region, have been reserved for RPI. Sharad Pawar, MPCC president Ranjit Deshmukh, leaders of the opposition in the state legislature, Chhagan Bhujbal and Madhukar Pichad, who were involved in finalising the list, returned from Delhi after camping in Delhi during the week.
The party has decided to field former socialist Vithal Tupe from Pune city from where former Union minister Suresh Kalmadi will be fightingas an independent supported by the Sena-BJP.
Pawar confidante, Datta Meghe, has managed to shift from Ramtek to neighbouring Wardha Lok Sabha constituency. Chitralekha Bhosale, who had joined the BJP last time, has returned to the party fold to fight from the Ramtek constituency. Former Union home minister SB Chavan has put his weight behind his son-in-law and former minister Bhaskarrao Khatgaonkar, who will fight from Nanded. Sitting MP Gangadhar Kunturkar has been denied ticket. In Konkan, the party has decided to field new faces. From Rajapur, a leading Marathi artist Machindra Kambli will fight from Rajapur, while the district Congress president Nishikant Joshi will fight from Ratnagiri.
In Vidarbha, the party has decided to field Youth Congress activists. In Nagpur city, the party will field former MP Vilas Muttemwar, while in Chandrapur Naresh Pungalia will be contesting against sitting BJP MP, Hansraj Ahir.
In Marathwada, the party will field former minister Ashok Patil from Beed constituency.His wife, Rajani Patil, who had won the Lok Sabha seat on the BJP ticket in 1996, has returned to the Congress fold after Sonia Gandhi began campaigning for the party.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
