Party announces 48 contenders, including familiar faces and fresh challengers
Prithviraj Chavan and Nana Patole
After much hassle, the Congress released its first list of 48 Assembly poll candidates on Thursday night. Predictably, it includes sitting MLAs who have been re-nominated. Some of the next generation of party leaders have also been selected.
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The party has given a contestant against the deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis from Nagpur South West. Prafulla Gudadhe Patil, who had lost earlier to Fadnavis, will take on a mighty challenge once again. State president Nana Patole has retained his Sakoli segment. Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar has regained Brahmapuri.
In Mumbai, the Congress has named Naseem Khan (Chandivli), who lost by a whisker in 2019. City President and MP Varsha Gaikwad’s sister Dr Jyoti Gaikwad will be the party’s nominee in Dharavi-SC. Varsha was an MLA there before becoming an MP. Sitting MLAs, Amin Patel (Mumbadevi) and Aslam Shaikh (Malad West) have been re-nominated. In Mira Bhayandar, Syed Muzaffar Hussain will try his luck once again.
Former CM Prithviraj Chavan, ex-ministers Yashomati Thakur, Vishwajeet Kadam, KC Padavi, Amit Vilasrao Deshmukh, Balasaheb Thorat, Ranjit Kamble, Anil Deshmukh and Nitin Raut will be in the contest yet again.