Maha Vikas Aghadi Selects Girish Pandav for Nagpur South Constituency
Nagpur, India: The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance chose Girish Pandav for the Nagpur South constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly 2024 elections. This decision comes after discussions involving Vishal Muttemwar and Nitin Kumbhalkar, other potential candidates.
On Saturday, Congress announced its 2nd and 3rd lists of candidates, which include 41 names, featuring both new faces and current MLAs. Of these, 17 candidates are from Vidarbha, a region where Congress hopes to perform well.
Although the Shiv Sena (UBT) wanted the Nagpur South seat, Anuja Kedar, the wife of Congress leader Sunil Kedar, is also on the list. She filed her nomination for the Saoner constituency on October 24, before the approval from the party. Sunil Kedar cannot contest due to his conviction, invalidating his Assembly membership.
Former minister Vasant Purke will run from his usual Ralegaon seat, while Jitendra Moghe, son of senior leader Shivajirao Moghe, is the candidate for the Arni (ST) seat. Despite losing in the Kamptee constituency in the last elections, Suresh Bhoyar is back to challenge BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
There is some unhappiness in Wardha Congress over the choice of Shekhar Shende, as two local doctors, Dr. Sachin Pawade and Dr. Uday Meghe, also wanted the seat. Many party members believe new candidates should have been selected.
Other candidates include Puja Thavkar from Bhandara (SC), Dalip Bansod from Arjuni Morgaon (SC), Rajkumar Puram from Amgaon (ST), Anil Mangulkar from Yavatmal, Mahesh Gangane from Akot, Dr. Swati Wakekar from Jalgaon (Jamod), and Sahebrao Kamble from Umerkhed.
With the elections approaching, Congress is focused on strengthening its presence in Vidarbha, which is crucial for their strategy.
