Four file nominations for Nagpur graduates' constituency seat; BJP drops rally over drought

Nominations were filed on Monday for the election to the Nagpur division graduates' constituency seat of the Legislative Council. Congress's Abhijit Wanjari, BJP's Sudhakar Kohale, two BJP rebels, Anil Sole and Adv Raman Senad, and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) rebel Karale, along with a few other candidates, filed their papers with a show of strength.

The area around the divisional commissioner's office looked like the venue of a political event. Candidates of the major parties had announced they would file papers on Monday, so the administration had made arrangements there. Police security was tight across the premises. All papers were submitted to Divisional Commissioner and Returning Officer Vijayalaxmi Bidari.

The nomination rally of Abhijit Wanjari, the Congress and Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate, set out from the GPO-area residence of Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh. Congress used the rally to show unity. Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal, former state president Nana Patole, Congress legislature party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, MLA Vikas Thakre, and former ministers Sunil Kedar, Rajendra Mulak and Ranjit Kamble took part.

MLA Sanjay Meshram, former MLAs Ashok Dhawad, Atul Londhe and Atul Kotecha, NCP city president Duneshwar Pethe, other senior office-bearers and corporators were also in the rally. Wanjari filed his nomination papers at 12 noon. His campaign was then launched at Jawahar Vidyarthi Griha.

The BJP had made full preparations for Sudhakar Kohale's nomination. A rally was to set out from Swagat Lawn in Civil Lines. However, guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, citing the drought, said the papers should be filed simply, and the rally was cancelled. Minister of State Ashish Jaiswal and Pankaj Bhoyar, state vice-president Upendra Kothekar, city president Dayashankar Tiwari, and MLAs Praveen Datke and Vishnu Chagde gathered with Bawankule.

BJP candidate and former MLA Sudhakar Kohale expressed hope that although Anil Sole had filed his papers, he would withdraw in the end in the party's interest. Kohale also claimed that Sole is his political mentor and that all office-bearers and workers, including the party leadership, are with him.

BJP rebels Anil Sole and Adv Raman Senad and NCP (SP) rebel Nitesh Karale arrived to file papers at intervals of 10 to 15 minutes. As soon as Sole arrived, workers filled the area with slogans. Senad, too, had a sizeable number of supporters. Karale led a rally from Samvidhan Chowk. He came wearing a turban, accompanied by a worker dressed as Mahatma Gandhi and a woman worker.