‘Abducted’ Cong candidate surfaces, withdraws from Latur ZP race

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A day after Congress's Latur unit filed a police complaint alleging that its zilla parishad candidate, Anjana Choudhary, had been abducted, she reappeared on Tuesday — only to withdraw her nomination.Choudhary arrived at the election office with a large convoy and announced her withdrawal without offering any explanation.The move left Congress members shocked, while it lifted the spirits of BJP camp. With Choudhary stepping out, Congress is now contesting 53 of the 54 ZP seats.Latur district rural Congress president Abhay Salunke said the development would not affect the party's prospects. "We initially suspected she had been abducted by rivals, but it now seems she has aligned with the BJP," he said.Salunke said a BJP rebel was contesting from the seat Choudhary vacated, and Congress planned to back him.BJP had controlled the Latur ZP in the previous term, but Congress is determined to oust the party this time. The party is energized by its sweeping victory in the Jan 15 municipal elections, where it won 43 of 70 seats, defeating BJP decisively.