Congress aspirant demands candidature from Maratha-quota party in Madha

Madha: An aspirant from the Congress in Madha on Saturday (October 19) attended a meeting called by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and his party the Sakal Maratha Samaj. This is likely to adversely affect the chances of the Maha Viaks Aghadi (MVA) candidate.

NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar played the Maratha card and won the seat against the BJP in the Lok Sabha election. However, the MVA may receive a setback if a Maratha candidate is fielded by Jarange Patil.

As many as 11 aspirants from Solapur districts were called for a meeting as per instructions issued by Manoj Jarange Patil. Congress-MVA leader Meenal Sathe attended the meeting. She has demanded the candidature from the Sakal Maratha Samaj from the Madha Assembly seat. This has made the MVA camp restless.

Former Madha Municipal Council President Meenal Sathe is the daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader and former MLA Dhanaji Sathe. The Congress as well as the NCP want to contest the seat, which has stalled seat-sharing talks. Meenal Sathe, along with her father-in-law, met NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar a couple times demanding that the segment should be given to the Congress candidate.

In the absence of any response from the MVA, she has started searching for other options. This led her to approach Manoj Jarange Patil. But the MVA has become restless while the Maha Yuti has started celebrating the move.

If Meenal Sathe is fielded by Jarange Patil, there will be a division of votes between the MVA and the Sakal Maratha Samaj, which will help the Maha Yuti. This will nullify the efforts made by Sharad Pawar to win over the BJP leader during the Lok Sabha poll.