After weeks of discord among the ruling Mahayuti partners over the Nashik Lok Sabha seat in north Maharashtra, cabinet Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday announced that he was withdrawing from the electoral fray as the delay in announcing a candidate for the seat was affecting the prospects of the ruling coalition.
Mr. Bhujbal’s cutting of the Gordian knot over Nashik paves the way for the seat to be claimed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s ruling Shiv Sena faction, which currently holds the seat in form of two-term MP Hemant Godse, who has been eagerly gunning for a ticket to contest a third time.
After the tussle between the ruling BJP and CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction over the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat, Nashik was arguably the thorniest constituency in seat-sharing parleys between the Mahayuti allies, with both the Shinde Sena and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP laying claim to it.
Speaking in Mumbai, Mr. Bhujbal, an influential OBC leader from Nashik, said that while the BJP top brass in Delhi, particularly Union Home Minister Amit Shah had been insistent that he contest the seat, the delay in officially announcing a candidate was hurting the chances of the Mahayuti’s would-be candidate for the seat.
“It was essential that the deadlock be broken and hence I am stepping back from the poll fray. That both PM Modi and Mr. Shah suggested my name for the Nashik seat is something I am extremely thankful for…but it has been more than three weeks since my name was floated about and an official announcement has been pending. On the other hand, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) candidate has already begun his campaigning. This delay may hurt our chances. Hence, I have decided to opt out,” Mr. Bhujbal, a three-term MLA from Yeola in Nashik, said.
The NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader further disclosed that while he had suggested to the BJP brass that his nephew, Sameer Bhujbal, contest the seat, Mr. Shah and other in the BJP had made it clear that only Mr. Chhagan Bhujbal ought to contest.
Sameer Bhujbal had won the Nashik Lok Sabha in 2009 only to be upstaged by the Sena’s Hemant Godse in the next general election.
Mr. Chhagan Bhujbal, who was recently in the news as a formidable OBC figurehead opposing Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, further claimed he had toured the Nashik Lok Sabha and had found solid support among all sections and communities – be it Maratha or OBC.
The spat within the allies over Nashik has been raging for over a month now, with the Shinde Sena strongly opposing the Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s claim over the seat given that it already had a sitting MP from the Shinde camp.
The dispute saw an anxious Mr. Godse make frequent trips to Mumbai to confer with CM Eknath Shinde over the issue.
Thanking Mr. Bhujbal for stepping back, a relieved Mr. Godse said, “Central leaders were insisting that Mr. Chhagan Bhujbal contest the Lok Sabha from Nashik. However, I thank Mr. Bhujbal for withdrawing from the contest. We now expect the rift within the Mahayuti over this seat to be resolved soon.”
Nashik goes to polls in the fifth, and final phase for Maharashtra, on May 20.
