The Nashik Lok Sabha constituency will witness a multi-cornered contest in the upcoming polls where NCP stalwart and Maharashtra PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal is pitted against AAP’s Vijay Pandhare, along with Shiv Sena, BSP, MNS and CPM nominees.
Aam Aadmi party nominee Vijay Pandhare, a retired chief engineer of Nashik’s Maharashtra Engineering training Academy (META), was the whistleblower of alleged irregularities in various irrigation projects.
Mr. Pandhare, who is contesting Lok Sabha elections from Nashik for the first time, is hopeful of a win on the back of issues like corruption, development, his party’s impact in Delhi elections and several corruption charges levelled against Chhagan Bhujbal by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and others.
Shiv Sena’s candidate Hemant Godse had contested the last Lok Sabha elections on MNS ticket against NCP’s sitting MP Sameer Bhujbal, the nephew of Chhagan Bhujbal.
Mr. Godse is the son of Sena’s former MP Rajabhau Godse and a sitting municipal corporator and zilla parishad member too.
Also in the fray is sitting CPM corporator Tanaji Jaibhave.
Congress party’s rebel corporator from Nashik Dinkar Patil recently announced his candidature on Bahujan Samaj Party’s ticket.
Congress had on Friday issued a show cause notice to him for anti-party activities. As per the notice issued by Nashik city Congress observer Bhai Jagtap, Mr. Patil is supposed to explain why he held a press conference and declared that he would be contesting the Lok Sabha election on the BSP ticket.
Meanwhile, MNS on Sunday declared Pradeep Pawar as its nominee from the Nashik seat.
The Nashik parliamentary constituency has a total electorate of 15,45,564, including 7,20,601 women voters, spread in six Assembly segments of Sinnar, Nashik east, Nashik central, Nashik west, Devlali and Igatpuri.
