Aurangabad, Nov 6:
The tug-of-war for securing a ticket for the Marathwada graduate constituency election among the BJP''s candidature has just begun. On Thursday, former MP Jaysingrao Gaikwad filed his nomination papers and on Friday, BJP state president Chandrakant Patil''s close associates Kishore Shitole and Pankaja Munde''s supporter Praveen Ghuge also filed nominations. To date, 41 aspiring candidates have purchased 87 nomination papers for the graduate constituency. The nomination process will continue till November 12.
Though it was reported on Friday that the NCP''s candidate Satish Chavan had received a nomination from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), it seems that the MVA has not held a meeting at senior level as Akshay Khedkar has received a nomination from the Shiv Sena on Friday. Shirish Boralkar, the main contender from the BJP, has become a major competitor for the post. The delay in announcing the candidature for various political parties is due to the increase in the number of aspirants. Shitole has a strong network in universities, banks, and Maratha Kranti Morcha. Shitole expects to get a candidature on Maratha card. Similarly, in the last twenty years, Jaysingrao Gaikwad has led twice. Satish Chavan has been leading since the last two elections. Now, BJP is considering giving candidature considering the political and social equations in order to dominate the constituency.
Decision by Sunday afternoon
The candidate from BJP will be finalized by Sunday noon. After receiving the nomination papers, Shitole left for Mumbai and was with state president Chandrakant Patil. While his report was called for by the party two days ago, he too is looking forward to getting the nomination, while there is talk in party circles that Ghuge has started preparations through former minister Pankaja Munde.