Candidates rush to file poll papers on auspicious day amid show of strength

Pune: Key politicians, including BJP's Chandrakant Patil, NCP (SCP) Indapur candidate Harshvardhan Patil and NCP's Dilip Walse Patil, filed nominations in their respective constituencies on Thursday, with party workers turning up in large numbers to show their support.Chandrakant Patil was renominated from Kothrud despite opposition by former corporator Amol Balwadkar. He was accompanied by Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol and former Kothrud MLA and Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni. Patil said Mahayuti would again form govt in the state based on work done in the last two-and-a-half years. "They (MVA partners) are claiming that all the issues have been resolved as far as seat allocation is concerned. But the final call on many seats has not been taken yet. On the other hand, Mahayuti has finalised 288 of 288 seats. The picture is clear for us," he said, while speaking to reporters before filing his nomination papers.He said Mahayuti seniors would take a call on CM's post after the results were out. Regarding the talks that MVA was considering pitching Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat's as the chief minister, he said MVA could take a decision on its CM face, but it won't help MVA much as they were not going to win the election.Sources said a large number of applications were filed during on Thursday being an auspicious day. Astrologer Gaurav Deshpande said many politicians had approached him to confirm the auspicious time to file nominations. "Thursday (Nov 24) was one of these dates. There was an ‘Amrit Yoga' as per the panchang and there was also ‘Jaya Tithi', which made the day more auspicious. Nov 26 and 28 are also auspicious to file nominations," he said. In Indapur, Harshvardhan Patil's supporters held a huge rally. Sule, addressing a gathering, appealed to vote for Harshvardhan. She said Indapur required a leadership change for overall development. Harshvardhan said Indapur was sidelined for 10 years, which hampered the overall development of the area. He said the efforts of Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SCP), Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) would bring a change in state leadership.In Ambegaon, Dilip Walse Patil addressed his supporters and said people in the state would vote in favour of Mahayuti, which took many citizen-centric decisions in the last two-and-a-half years. Among other prominent leaders who filed nominations on Thursday were Maval MLA Sunil Shelke (NCP) and Shirur MLA Ashok Pawar (NCP-SCP), both are looking ahead for second straight term in the state assembly. Shelke is a close associate of Ajit Pawar, however, his candidature has been opposed by local BJP leaders.Cong's Aba Bagul files papers from ParvatiCongress politician Aba Bagul on Thursday filed his nomination from Parvati. "I am hopeful to get a ticket. I have already expressed my desire before Congress and NCP (SCP) leaders. If not, the option is open as an independent," he said. The Parvati seat is with NCP (SCP); however, Bagul is looking ahead to contest the seat," he said.
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