Local Congress unit keen on Ahmednagar poll ticket

NASHIK: The Ahmednagar unit of Congress wants the state party leadership to impress upon NCP the need to allow a Congress candidate to contest the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat.
The local Congress unit has floated the name of Balasaheb Thorat, the former state Congress president and MLA from Sangamner, to take on BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Ahmednagar.
“The Ahmednagar unit of the party placed its views before the state leadership during a meeting in Mumbai on Friday. We have demanded that the state Congress leadership must impress upon NCP that it must allow Congress to contest the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat as the party is capable of defeating BJP here,” Ahmednagar Congress unit president Kiran Kale told TOI.
For the past three terms, BJP has been winning the Ahmednagar LS seat defeating NCP candidates. The current BJP MP is Sujay Vikhe Patil, who is the son of state revenue minister and BJP heavyweight Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. The demand of the Congress Ahmednagar unit comes at a time when the NCP leadership has already shortlisted five candidates for the upcoming polls from Ahmednagar. NCP chief Sharad Pawar chaired a review meeting for the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat recently. State NCP chief Jayant Patil was also present in the meeting.
Kale said the local Congress unit has proposed the name of Balasahab Thorat. “We met Thorat a few days ago. He has not turned down our request. We even met state party president Nana Patole and demanded that Congress should contest the Ahmednagar LS seat instead of NCP. He gave us a patient hearing, though he did not comment on the issue,” said Kale.
Kale said Congress had won the seat a dozen times since the 1952 Lok Sabha polls. “NCP has been contesting the polls from the seat and barring in 2004, NCP has been defeated by BJP in every poll. We requested the Congress leadership to allow the party to contest the polls instead of NCP in 2024,” added Kale claiming that it is imperative for Thorat to contest the polls to strengthen the hands of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Ahmednagar NCP president Rajendra Phalke ruled out any possibility of Congress contesting the Ahmednagar LS seat. “The Ahmednagar LS seat involves six assembly seats, and NCP had won four of them. The remaining two were won by BJP. There is no way NCP would give a ticket to Congress in Ahmednagar,” added Phalke.
“NCP is the best bet to take on the BJP here. Congress should not stake a claim on this seat” added Phalke.