Ajit Pawar welcomes former MP Shivajirao Adhalrao into NCP, announces his candidature from Shirur

Mumbai, March 26 (IANS) NCP chief Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced the nomination of former MP Shivajirao Adhalrao, who joined the party on Tuesday, from the Shirur constituency in Pune district.

He made this announcement after Adhalrao, who was the deputy leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, quit the party and joined the NCP.

Ajit Pawar, at the rally held in Manchar, asked the party workers to work hard for Adhalrao’s victory as his victory is important to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister for the third time.

Adhalrao is set to take on the sitting MP and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar nominee Amol Kolhe. Adhalrao had won the Shirur seat on a Shiv Sena ticket in the 2004, 2009, and 2014 Lok Sabha elections but lost the 2019 polls to NCP’s Kolhe.

Adhalrao had left the NCP in 2004 and joined Shiv Sena. It was Adhalrao’s homecoming to NCP but now headed by Ajit Pawar, who admitted that despite the NCP’s efforts, Adhalrao won three elections but lost to celebrity Amol Kolhe in 2019.

“However, in the coming elections, you have to work hard for the victory of Adhalrao defeating Kolhe in the Shirur constituency. His election will help further boost the development in the constituency mainly due to the double engine at the Centre and in Maharashtra,” he said.

Ajit Pawar asked the party workers not to be complacent as the candidate from the opposition (Kolhe) is an actor and will impress the voters through his acting. He lashed out at Kolhe for remaining inactive during his five-year term.

“You need an MP who will be available 24×7. Adhalrao will be available for you all the time unlike Kolhe,” he noted.

He asked the voters to give a margin of 1 lakh votes in Ambegaon tehsil alone from where Adhalrao hails.

“You have to focus on activating the booth-level machinery. Don’t go to other villages but work hard in your respective villages for Adhalrao’s victory with a higher margin,” he said.

Ajit Pawar targeted Kolhe for his criticism of Adhalrao’s entry into the NCP after quitting the Shiv Sena, saying that it was a homecoming for Adhalrao.

He recalled that it was because of him that Kolhe was inducted in the NCP from Shiv Sena and fielded in the Shirur seat.

He made a blistering attack against the opposition for running a campaign that the BJP, if it returns to power, would change the Constitution. “Why was the Constitution not changed in the last 10 years? Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has recently said that it won’t be possible. So a misinformation campaign is being run by the opposition and we have to expose them during outreach with the voters,” he said.

–IANS

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