Rebel Anil Sole stays in Nagpur graduates' fray; Chivte, Mane step aside in Pune

The deadline to withdraw nominations for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats passed on Friday, and the list of contestants is now final. Some rebels gave up their claims. Others refused, and the ruling and opposition alliances will have to live with that.

Nagpur is where the BJP's trouble persists. Anil Sole, a senior party figure who is also addressed as Prof. Sole, filed his papers as an independent for the Nagpur division graduates' constituency and has not taken them back. Party managers tried hard to talk him out of it and hoped for a settlement until the last hour, but he could not be contacted when the time ran out. That the BJP failed to contain a revolt in the home city of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has added to its embarrassment.

The seat is therefore headed for a three-cornered fight. The BJP's official nominee is Sudhakar Kohle, the Congress has put up Abhijeet Wanjari again, and Sole will contest against both.

Sole also gained a prominent backer. Girish Vyas, whose father Bacchraj Vyas once led the Jana Sangh nationally, quit the BJP's primary membership and gave up every position he held in the organisation. He has declared that he supports Sole and has set up a campaign office for him in the Mahal area, which is a heavy blow to the party in the city.

Pune presented a different picture. For the Pune teachers' constituency the BJP has nominated Kaustubh Gavade. Mangesh Chivte, the Shinde faction's candidate, had also filed on behalf of the Shiv Sena, which created an awkward situation within the Mahayuti. After senior leaders intervened, Chivte withdrew, and Eknath Shinde in effect gave way.

In the Pune graduates' constituency, Bhaiyya Mane (Pratap) of the NCP's Sunetra Pawar faction had entered the race against the BJP's Smita Jadhav. Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, together with Vinay Kore and Samit Kadam of the Janasurajya Shakti Party, appealed to him, and Mane withdrew as well. With both exits, the Mahayuti's quarrel over seat-sharing in Pune has been put to rest.

The remaining contests are in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where graduates will vote, and Amravati, where teachers will vote. Together with the Pune teachers' and graduates' seats and the Nagpur graduates' seat, they make up the five constituencies going to the polls. Wherever rebels have kept their nominations, friction between the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Mahayuti is expected to sharpen as campaigning begins.