Maharashtra polls: NCP's first list include Ajit Pawar, Nawab Malik

With days left for the Maharashtra assembly polls, the Nationalist Congress Party, under the leadership of Sharad Pawar, released the first list of 77 candidates for the polls on Wednesday. Notably, the first list announces the names of senior leaders including Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil, and Rohit Pawar among others for the polls. Former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was recently named by ED in ECIR (FIR) in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case, is once again set to contest the election from Baramati.

Sharad Pawar's grand-nephew Rohit Pawar will be making his electoral debut in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls from Karjat Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district against sitting BJP MLA and minister Ram Shinde. State NCP chief Jayant Patil will contest from Islampur, and Bhujbal from Yeola. While Mumbai NCP president Nawab Malik will contest from Anushaktinagar, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde, will contest from Parli. After Namita Mundada joined the BJP party ahead of the polls, the NCP fielded Prithviraj Sathe from Kej.

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Pawars under scrutiny

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and his nephew and former deputy CM of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar have been recently named in the ECIR (FIR) filed by the ED in the MSCB scam. Following the development, Ajit Pawar on September 27 resigned as MLA from Maharashtra assembly elections, asserting that NCP patriarch has been dragged into the bank case because he is the director of the bank. Amit the Ajit Pawar's decision to quit from the assembly, NCP chief Sharad Pawar maintained that there is no feud within the family, dismissing media reports. 

READ | Maharashtra: Namita Mundada leaves NCP, joins BJP

Maharashtra Assembly polls

The elections for the 288-member Legislative Assembly in Maharashtra will be held on October 21, along with Haryana in a single phase. Counting of votes in both states will take place on October 24. While NCP is gearing up for the 2019 assembly elections, a number of leaders including Namita Mundada moved ships to BJP ahead of polls. 

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(With PTI inputs)