In western Maharashtra, candidates renominated for the Lok Sabha elections across the political spectrum — from Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP — are facing strong opposition either from their alliance partner or from within their party. There are at least five seats in western Maharashtra — Maval, Shirur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Shirdi — where leaders and workers have openly raised the banner of revolt against the renominated candidates. The day Shiv Sena announced that Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil has been renominated from Shirur, some BJP corporators, led by party MLA Mahesh Landge, held a meeting in Bhosari to discuss whether they should join the campaign of Adhalrao. Landge and his supporters have been demanding that the seat should be contested by a BJP candidate. A corporator who attended the meeting said, “We discussed how Adhalrao had opposed several policies of the BJP-led PCMC and raised allegations of corruption. We also discussed whether to campaign for Adhalrao.” Click here for more election news Landge, however, said he and his supporters will campaign for Adhalrao. “We are not opposing the candidature of Adhalrao. There is no truth in the speculation that Adhalrao’s candidature ws opposed in the meeting. It is our monthly meeting where we discussed the development projects being implemented in the city,” he said. In Maval, a section of BJP corporators led by party MLA Laxman Jagtap has been very vocal against Shrirang Barne, who has been renominated by the Sena. Jagtap and Barne share a bitter rivalry that dates back to over a decade. Jagtap, who was preparing to contest from Maval, received a jolt after the BJP and Shiv Sena decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections together. Jagtap’s supporters than met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari and urged them to take the seat from the Sena and field a BJP candidate from it. They argued that Barne had been opposing the BJP and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies. Barne, however, said he has never criticised the PM. Read | BJP list for Maharashtra: Four sitting MPs dropped In Sangli, BJP has renominated Sanjaykaka Patil, who is not only facing opposition from within the party but also from the Shiv Sena. He was opposed by two sitting MLAs as well as the district president of BJP, Prithviraj Deshmukh and the district chief of Sena, Sanjay Vibhute. However, following directions from Fadnavis himself, Patil, the two MLAs and Deshmukh held a joint press conference to announce that they will work together for the Lok Sabha elections. Local Sena leaders admitted that though they will work for Sanjaykaka Patil, they were not happy about his style of functioning. “In the last five years, Shiv Sena has been overlooked by Patil. regarding appointments on committees or various civic issues. Though we will adhere to the directive of our party to campaign for the alliance candidate, the resentment among Sainiks about the sitting MP will remain,” Vibhute said. The political equation in Kolhapur is a different story altogether, as sitting NCP MP Dhananjay Mahadik is facing opposition from Congress leaders like Satej Patil, who are supporting Sena candidate Sanjay Mandlik. When mediapersons asked him about Patil’s support on Friday, District Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil said, “During the assembly elections, we will see how we can return the favour. Though my family is close to the family of Dhananjay Mahadik, I will be working for the alliance candidate.” Also read | BJP unlikely to bow to Sena pressure in Mumbai North East Shirdi, meanwhile, is witnessing an open revolt, with BJP leader Bhausaheb Wakchaure on Saturday declaring that he will file his nomination from the seat to take on sitting Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande, who has been renominated.
