Council polls: BJP rebel Sole stays in Nagpur race; Chivte, Mane withdraw in Pune

The last date for withdrawal of nominations for elections to five Legislative Council seats in Maharashtra ended on Friday. It is now clear who will contest which seat. On some seats where there had been rebellion, a few candidates withdrew, but in other places the rebels have stuck to their nominations.

In Nagpur, the BJP's revolt continues. Anil Sole, the party's rebel candidate on the Nagpur graduates' seat, remains in the contest. Considerable effort was made to persuade him to withdraw, but he has become unreachable. The BJP has named Sudhakar Kohle as its official candidate from this graduates' seat in the Nagpur division. The Congress has once again fielded Abhijeet Wanjari. A triangular contest is now expected on the seat.

Meanwhile, Girish Vyas, son of former Jana Sangh national president Bacchraj Vyas, has resigned from the primary membership of the BJP and from all his posts. He has announced support for Sole, the BJP's rebel candidate in the Nagpur graduates' election. Vyas has also opened an office for Sole's campaign in the Mahal area. This has dealt the BJP a major blow in Nagpur.

The picture in Pune was different. On the Pune teachers' seat, Eknath Shinde had to give way, as Mangesh Chivte, the candidate of the Shinde faction, withdrew his nomination. This averted an internal fight within the Mahayuti in Pune. The BJP has fielded Kaustubh Gavade from this seat.

On the Pune graduates' seat too, a rebel stepped back. Bhaiya Mane, a rebel from the NCP Sunetra Pawar faction, withdrew his nomination. The BJP has fielded Smita Jadhav from this seat. Mane is reported to have withdrawn after requests from Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, Janasurajya Shakti Party leader Vinay Kore and Samit Kadam.

The five seats going to the polls are the Pune teachers' seat, the graduates' seats of Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and the Amravati teachers' seat. Where rebels have stuck to their nominations, tension is likely to rise between the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Mahayuti. With the withdrawal deadline over, the picture for the whole election is now clear.