Satav & Chakurkar in race for MLC post from M’wada

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Pradnya Satav from Hingoli and Archana Patil Chakurkar from Latur are among BJP leaders from Marathwada whose names have been making rounds as the party candidate for upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections.Satav joined BJP in Dec last year after resigning from the MLC post and the primary membership of Congress. She is the wife of late Congress MP Rajeev Satav from Hingoli, who was considered as a close confidant to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Her exit was considered a setback for Congress. Political observers said, "While her second term as an MLC was scheduled to end in 2030, BJP may consider Satav for representing the Legislative Council again to cash on the mass following of the Satav family in Hingoli."Archana Patil Chakurkar, the daughter-in-law of late Union Minister and Congress leader Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, has been increasing her clout in Latur even since joining BJP in March 2024. She lost the last assembly poll from Latur to Congress's Amit Deshmukh by a margin of over 7,000 votes.She was made in-charge for the Latur municipal polls by BJP recently, but later Nilanga MLA Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar replaced her in the wake of her father-in-law's death. "The BJP faced an embarrassing defeat in the municipal polls. The loss, in turn, underlined Archana's importance in Latur. Belonging to the locally dominant Lingayat community, Archana's elevation is expected to help BJP in countering the politically strong Deshmukh family of Congress in Latur," said party sources. The elections is scheduled on May 15. The official notification is scheduled to be out on Thursday, marking the beginning of filing of nominations till April 30.