04-09-2009, 07:42 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJPâs tactical retreat to rout Cong dynasty</b>
pioneer.com
TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
In a strategic move aimed at ending the dynastic control of the family of late veteran State Congress leader Vasantdada Patil over Sangli in western Maharashtra, the BJP on Wednesday withdrew its candidate Deepak Shinde from the Lok Sabha poll fray in favour of relatively stronger Congress rebel candidate Ajit Ghorpade.
The BJP sprang a surprise on last day of the withdrawal of nominations for the second phase of Lok Sabha poll in Maharashtra when it virtually pulled Shinde out of the fray and threw its lot with Ghorpade, a sitting Congress MLA from Kavathe Mahankal constituency in Sangli district. Ghorpade has rebelled against sitting Congress MP and its official candidate Pratik Patil, grandson of late Vasantdada Patil and son of former Congress MP Prakashbapu Patil, and is contesting as an independent.
State BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said: <b>âWe have decided to withdraw our candidate from the fray because we would like to defeat the Congressâ official candidate at any cost.â </b>
The Sangli seat has been with the Patils since 1980 when late Vasantdada Patil contested the LS poll for the first time. The absolute control of the Patils over Sangli has not gone down well with others â including senior leader Patangrao Kadam â within the Congress and the Opposition.
Bhandari candidly admitted that Ghorpade is relatively stronger than Shinde to take on Pratik Patil. âPlus we expect Ghorpade â if he wins â to support the NDA after the Lok Sabha poll,â the BJP spokesperson said.
<b>A structural engineer from IIT, Chennai, who manages a private firm at Sangli, Shinde was himself not physically present when his nomination came to be withdrawn. âI had sent my cousin Abbasaheb Shinde â who had proposed my candidature â along with an authorisation letter shortly after I received a fax from State BJP president Nitin Gadkari advising me to withdraw my papers,â</b> Shinde told The Pioneer.
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pioneer.com
TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
In a strategic move aimed at ending the dynastic control of the family of late veteran State Congress leader Vasantdada Patil over Sangli in western Maharashtra, the BJP on Wednesday withdrew its candidate Deepak Shinde from the Lok Sabha poll fray in favour of relatively stronger Congress rebel candidate Ajit Ghorpade.
The BJP sprang a surprise on last day of the withdrawal of nominations for the second phase of Lok Sabha poll in Maharashtra when it virtually pulled Shinde out of the fray and threw its lot with Ghorpade, a sitting Congress MLA from Kavathe Mahankal constituency in Sangli district. Ghorpade has rebelled against sitting Congress MP and its official candidate Pratik Patil, grandson of late Vasantdada Patil and son of former Congress MP Prakashbapu Patil, and is contesting as an independent.
State BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said: <b>âWe have decided to withdraw our candidate from the fray because we would like to defeat the Congressâ official candidate at any cost.â </b>
The Sangli seat has been with the Patils since 1980 when late Vasantdada Patil contested the LS poll for the first time. The absolute control of the Patils over Sangli has not gone down well with others â including senior leader Patangrao Kadam â within the Congress and the Opposition.
Bhandari candidly admitted that Ghorpade is relatively stronger than Shinde to take on Pratik Patil. âPlus we expect Ghorpade â if he wins â to support the NDA after the Lok Sabha poll,â the BJP spokesperson said.
<b>A structural engineer from IIT, Chennai, who manages a private firm at Sangli, Shinde was himself not physically present when his nomination came to be withdrawn. âI had sent my cousin Abbasaheb Shinde â who had proposed my candidature â along with an authorisation letter shortly after I received a fax from State BJP president Nitin Gadkari advising me to withdraw my papers,â</b> Shinde told The Pioneer.
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