Congress rebel sets up keen Assembly contest in Sangli after relative’s Lok Sabha poll success

Jayashree Patil, hailing from former CM Vasantdada Patil’s family, rebels against Congress to contest the Maharashtra Assembly polls as an independent candidate in Sangli.

BJP candidate Sudhir Gadgil in Sangli assembly constituency contesting against Prithviraj Patil of Congress and Congress rebel Jayashree Patil contesting as an Independent. (Express Photo By Pavan Khengre)

After the embarrassment in Kolhapur, where its candidate backed out at the eleventh hour, the Congress is facing a similar challenge in the adjoining Sangli Assembly segment as Jayashree Patil, from former chief minister Vasantdada Patil’s family, has entered the fray as an independent candidate.

Sangli was once a Congress bastion under the leadership of the Patil family. The party has lost its prominence in recent years owing to divisions within the family, which allowed the BJP to establish its supremacy.

Vasantdada Patil’s grandson Vishal Patil won the Lok Sabha election from Sangli as an independent candidate with the backing of the local Congress leadership, effectively mending family rifts. The Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024 promise to be equally intriguing for the Congress in the constituency, as another member of the family has rebelled, and the family appears as united as they were during the Lok Sabha polls.

Jayashree stated that the Patil family cannot be ignored in politics.

“The victory in the Sangli parliamentary seat indicates that the people of the area stand by our family and that we are the only ones who can revive the Congress in the city,” she said, adding that the party should not have denied her the ticket.

For the Sangli seat, the Congress has fielded Prithviraj Patil, who has contested unsuccessfully twice in the past.

“I don’t know why the Congress is ignoring and doing injustice to the loyal family of Vasantdada Patil. I failed to secure a party candidature for my sister-in-law Jayashree, but she is my candidate. I will campaign for her,” said Vishal Patil, who extended support to the Congress after being elected as an independent MP.

Story continues below this ad

Jeweller-turned-politician Sudhir Gadgil, the BJP candidate who had accidentally entered electoral politics, said, “I never dreamed of contesting elections, but the party surprisingly fielded me in 2014. I won two elections consecutively, and this time I asked the party to field a new candidate, but it decided to continue with me. I am not a politician; I am in public service.”

Gadgil believes the division of Congress votes due to a formidable rebel candidate will benefit him in the election. “The BJP lost the Sangli Lok Sabha seat recently to Vishal Patil because we became overconfident and negligent, but that won’t happen during the Assembly polls. The voters believe that the development of Sangli can be achieved only by the BJP,” he said.

Earlier, the Congress faced a setback in Kolhapur after its candidate, Madhurima Raje, exited the race on the last day for withdrawing nominations.

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories