NCP releases first list of 12 LS candidates

Mumbai, March 14 (IANS) The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday released its first list candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, including sitting MP Supriya Sule from Baramati and accommodating ally Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) on one seat.

The 12 candidates are from Maharashtra and from the sole seat of the Lakshadweep Islands.

However, the list, released by state party President Jayant Patil, did not name the nominee for Maharashtra's Maval constituency, from where Parth Ajit Pawar, the grand-nephew of NCP President Sharad Pawar, is expected to contest after the latter opted out of the poll race .

Also, the candidature for Madha seat remains undecided. The constituency is witnessing a sharp family tussle between the sitting MP Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil and his son Ranjitsinh, with the latter virtually threatening to walk over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if denied a ticket.

The other nominees are Sunil Tatkare (Raigad), Udayanraje Bhosale (Satara), Dhananjay Mahadik (Kolhapur), Rajendra Shingane (Buldhana), Gulabrao Deokar (Jalgaon).

There is also Sanjay Dina-Patil (Mumbai North-East) - the only seat the NCP will contest in the country's commercial capital, Rajesh Vitekar (Parbhani), Anand Paranjpe (Thane), Babaji B. Patil (Kalyan), Mohammed P.P. Faizal (Lakshadweep Isles), and the Hatkanangale constituency has been kept aside for the SSS, whose President Raju Shetti is likely to contest.

The remaining two lists will be announced over the next couple of days, since negotiations are still going on with the Congress for a few seats, Patil added.

The NCP list came out a day after its ally Congress released its second list which included five candidates from Maharashtra.