Maharashtra Assembly elections: NCP fields MLA Sunil Tingre from Vadgaonsheri despite opposition from local BJP unit

MLA Sunil Tingre has been accused of protecting the accused in the Pune Porsche hit-and-run case where two software engineers were killed.

Sunil Tingre, who is facing allegations of protecting the accused in the high-profile Pune Porsche hit-and-run case, has been fielded despite opposition from the local BJP unit. (X/@suniltingre)

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar on Friday put to rest speculation over who would contest the Vadgaonsheri Assembly seat in Pune by declaring the candidature of sitting MLA Sunil Tingre. Tingre’s name was in the party’s second list of seven candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Tingre, who is facing allegations of protecting the accused in the high-profile Pune Porsche hit-and-run case, has been fielded despite opposition from the local BJP unit. Former BJP MLA Jagdish Mulik was hoping to contest the seat and had threatened that local party workers would not campaign for Tingre if he was picked.

Tingre was a Shiv Sena corporator at the Pune Municipal Corporation. Ahead of the 2019 Assembly elections, he joined the NCP and defeated Mulik. He will now contest against Bapu Pathare of the NCP (SP).

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In May, after two software engineers were killed after they were hit by a speeding Porsche car in Vadgaonsheri, Tingre allegedly rushed to the local police station after the accused were taken into custody. The city police too had stated his intervention in its inquiry.

Last month, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar also took a dig at Tingre saying it was a shame that “a legislator, instead of standing by the common people, goes to help those who killed innocent citizens”.

NCP’s second list also included four candidates who were inducted into the party on Friday morning and given the candidature form. These include former Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique from Bandra East, former BJP MP Sanjaykaka Jagtap from Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal and former BJP leader Nishikant Patil from Islampur. Jagtap and Patil will contest against Rohit R R Patil, son of late NCP leader R R Patil, and state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil, respectively.

While former BJP leader Pratap Patil Chikhalikar was inducted and given a ticket from the Loha Assembly seat, former Shiv Sena district unit chief Dnyaneshwar Katke, who joined NCP earlier this week, was fielded from Shirur.

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The Assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.

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

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