Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday raised eyebrows with the announcement of four party candidates from Satara district for the upcoming state assembly polls, at a time when talks of seat sharing are on with the Shiv Sena.
“Whether or not the alliance happens, Madan Bhosale from Wai, Mahesh Shinde from Koregaon, Atul Bhosale from South Karad and Manoj Ghorpade from North Karad will be the BJP candidates in Satara,” said Patil. After a series of flip flops, Patil had said an alliance with the Sena will “definitely” take place and that there was an issue of exchange of some seats, but it will be resolved amicably.
However, later he not only announced the names of four party candidates, but also asked his party workers to get ready for the assembly polls.
Along with the Satara Lok Sabha seat, Shiv Sena also has several assembly seats in the district under its belt. However, after Patil’s announcement of party candidates, there has been discomfort in the Sena.
The BJP has recently inducted NCP MLA Shivendraraje Bhosale and Congress MLA Jaykumar Gore from Satara and Phaltan constituencies respectively into the party. Both the leaders have been reportedly assured tickets by the BJP for the assembly polls.
“The code of conduct for assembly polls is likely to be imposed within a fortnight. Hence, the people will be inducted into the party in the coming days. We have made planning to ensure that all our candidates win in the polls,” said Patil.
