NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar to address rally in Shirdi, Vikhe Patil’s home turf

Nashik: NCP (SCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, busy campaigning for party candidates, has agreed to address a rally in the Shirdi constituency, the home turf of his political rival and senior BJP heavyweight Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.Congress politician Prabhavati Ghogare is contesting against Vikhe Patil in Shirdi, which the latter has been winning convincingly since 1995. Prabhavati's deceased father-in-law, Chandrabhan Ghogare, who won the Shirdi seat in 1978 on a Congress ticket, was a Pawar loyalist."Pawar Saab is extremely hard-pressed for time as all NCP (SCP) candidates across the state want him to attend rallies in their respective constituencies. Still, he has agreed to campaign for the Congress candidate in Shirdi. The rally will be organised in the Rahata area on Nov 13," Rajendra Phalke, the Ahliyanagar NCP (SCP) president, told TOI.The MVA camp in Ahliyanagar is keen on Sharad Pawar addressing at least one rally in Shirdi as it would have an impact on the voters, especially farmers. After repeated requests from local MVA politicians, Sharad Pawar agreed to address a rally in Shirdi, said NCP (SCP) sources.Sharad Pawar had led from the front campaigning in the Ahmednagar constituency during the recently concluded Lok Sabha, and that significantly helped NCP (SCP) candidate Nilesh Lanke defeat Vikhe Patil's son, Sujay. In the LS polls, Pawar addressed more than six rallies in different assembly segments.Prabhavati Ghogare's election strategy is being spearheaded by Congress Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, another political adversary of Vikhe Patil. "MVA worked in tandem to defeat Sujay in the LS polls. If the coalition can script a victory in Shirdi again, it would be a major political jolt to Vikhe Patil," said Ghogare supporters.Prabhavati is a part of NCP (SCP). After Congress got the seat in the seat-sharing arrangement, Thorat requested Sharad Pawar to allow her to contest on a Congress ticket as she would be a strong candidate. Sr Pawar agreed. However, many feel MVA would need to make an enormous effort to defeat Vikhe Patil since he has a substantial following in the constituency. Vikhe Patil recently told TOI that he is confident of his victory since the people of the constituency love him. Nashik: NCP (SCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, busy campaigning for party candidates, has agreed to address a rally in the Shirdi constituency, the home turf of his political rival and senior BJP heavyweight Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.Congress politician Prabhavati Ghogare is contesting against Vikhe Patil in Shirdi, which the latter has been winning convincingly since 1995. Prabhavati's deceased father-in-law, Chandrabhan Ghogare, who won the Shirdi seat in 1978 on a Congress ticket, was a Pawar loyalist."Pawar Saab is extremely hard-pressed for time as all NCP (SCP) candidates across the state want him to attend rallies in their respective constituencies. Still, he has agreed to campaign for the Congress candidate in Shirdi. The rally will be organised in the Rahata area on Nov 13," Rajendra Phalke, the Ahliyanagar NCP (SCP) president, told TOI.The MVA camp in Ahliyanagar is keen on Sharad Pawar addressing at least one rally in Shirdi as it would have an impact on the voters, especially farmers. After repeated requests from local MVA politicians, Sharad Pawar agreed to address a rally in Shirdi, said NCP (SCP) sources.Sharad Pawar had led from the front campaigning in the Ahmednagar constituency during the recently concluded Lok Sabha, and that significantly helped NCP (SCP) candidate Nilesh Lanke defeat Vikhe Patil's son, Sujay. In the LS polls, Pawar addressed more than six rallies in different assembly segments.Prabhavati Ghogare's election strategy is being spearheaded by Congress Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, another political adversary of Vikhe Patil. "MVA worked in tandem to defeat Sujay in the LS polls. If the coalition can script a victory in Shirdi again, it would be a major political jolt to Vikhe Patil," said Ghogare supporters.Prabhavati is a part of NCP (SCP). After Congress got the seat in the seat-sharing arrangement, Thorat requested Sharad Pawar to allow her to contest on a Congress ticket as she would be a strong candidate. Sr Pawar agreed. However, many feel MVA would need to make an enormous effort to defeat Vikhe Patil since he has a substantial following in the constituency. Vikhe Patil recently told TOI that he is confident of his victory since the people of the constituency love him.
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