Congress leader to contest as Independent against SS (UBT) in Sangli LS seat

On expected lines, Congress leader Vishal Prakashbapu Patil on Monday filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate for the Sangli Lok Sabha seat — challenging the official INDIA bloc-Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Chandrahar Patil.

Vishal Patil, the grandson of the late chief minister Vasantdada Patil and son of the veteran 5-time MP Prakashbapu Patil, will lock horns with the BJP’s sitting two-term MP Sanjaykaka Patil attempting a hat-trick in Sangli.

Supporters of Vishal Patil claimed that they were still hopeful of a Congress ticket, and he is likely to file a second set of nomination papers on Tuesday, though party officials declined to comment on the developments.

Congress MLA Dr. Vishwajeet Kadam from Palus-Kadegaon in Sangli along with Vishal Patil and other district senior party leaders had called on the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and other top brass in Delhi several times insisting that the Congress should contest Sangli.

Kadam-Patil duo last week also made a fervent request to the Shiv Sena (UBT) President and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to ‘give up’ the Sangli seat to Congress but the latter has spurned their pleas.

Since the past few days, there were political murmurs in Sangli that the aggrieved party workers would not campaign for the SS (UBT) nominee Chandrahar Patil, a wrestling champion.

Earlier, the state Congress leaders including President Nana F. Patole and others had raised objections to the SS (UBT) unilaterally ‘grabbing’ the Sangli seat even when the seat-sharing negotiations were in progress last month. Meanwhile, the Congress has kept mum on the latest development though Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) circles believe that Vishal Patil’s decision to contest as an Independent could lead to a triangular contest and upset the prospects of Chandrahar Patil, proving beneficial to the BJP.