Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday stepped in to resolve the differences between two BJP leaders Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil and Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar over the allocation of the Madha Lok Sabha seat. The BJP has announced sitting MP Naik-Nimbalkar as the candidate for the Madha Lok Sabha seat in Western Maharashtra, resulting in protests from the Mohite-Patil family and its followers in the constituency. Fadnavis convened a meeting late on Tuesday with both Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar and Vijaysinh Mohite Patil at his official residence in Mumbai. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was also present at the meeting. A highly placed source in the BJP said, “The BJP has already decided to field Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar as its candidate from Madha. There was no question of reconsidering the decision. The candidates’ list was cleared by the Central Election Committee”. “Fadnavis urged both Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar and Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil to bury their differences and work unitedly keeping PM Narendra Modi in mind. The 2024 Lok Sabha is about Viksit Bharat to get Modi reelected for the third term,” added the source. At the same time, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said all concerns raised by Mohite-Patil would be addressed. Everybody has an important role to play in the organisation and would get their due, he said. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar is also trying to woo Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, who joined the BJP during the 2019 elections after leaving the NCP, to his fold by promising him a Lok Sabha seat. On Sunday, Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil met Sharad Pawar in Madha, which was represented by the NCP (SP) chief from 2009 to 2014. Soon after Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil and Sharad Pawar met, the BJP sent Girish Mahajan to pacify him. “I will inform Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the demands of Mohite-Patil’s supporters and his views as well…The issue will be sorted out,” Mahajan had said on Sunday. Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil wanted the BJP to consider his nephew Dhairyasheel Patil as Madha candidate in place of Nimbalkar. Madha will go to the polls on April 23. The tussle between Ranjit Naik-Nimbalkar and Vijaysinh’s son and a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil for the Madha Lok Sabha seat is an open secret.
