Swara Bhaskar's husband and Samajwadi Party leader Fahad Ahmad on Sunday joined the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Chandra Pawar) ahead of the assembly polls in Maharashtra. He was fielded from the Anushakti Nagar seat against Sana Malik of NCP (Ajit Pawar).
He will take on Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Sana Malik, daughter of former minister Nawab Malik, who was arrested in February 2022 by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly usurping a property in Kurla here with the help of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's sister.
While addressing a press conference, NCP-SCP leader Jayant Patil said, "Fahad Ahmad is a well-educated young Muslim youth and has worked as an activist across the country. People want us togive a chance to such leaders. He was in the Samajwadi Party earlier but we had talks with SP and he came to our party. We gave him a ticket from our party from the Anushakti Nagar constituency."
Speaking on his candidature from the Anushakti Nagar seat in the Maharashtra polls, Fahad said that he is thankful to NCP chief Sharad Pawar for asking SP chief Akhilesh Yadav that they want to announce his name as a candidate from NCP-SCP.
"Sharad Pawar is also a socialist leader and I am thankful to him that he has asked Akhilesh Yadav that they want to announce my name as a candidate from NCP-SCP," he said. On contesting from the Anushakti Nagar seat in the MaharshtraAssemblyElections, Fahad Ahmad said "The roots of Samajwadi Party and NCP-SCP are connected with 'Samajwad'.The public has been waiting for elections in Maharashtra to get rid of the current government. Samajwadi Party and NCP-SCP are like families. There is a very strong relationship between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sharad Pawar & Supriya Sule and Akhilesh Yadav."
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The nine names were declared by NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil. With this, the party has announced candidates for 76 seats. Eleven of its candidates are women. The Sharad Pawar-led party has fielded Dnyayak Patni, son of late BJP MLA Rajendra Patni, from Karanja seat in Washim district. Rajendra Patni, who won the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections on a BJP ticket, died in February this year. However, his son chose to join the NCP (SP).
Other candidates announced by the party include Atul Wandile from Hinganghat (in Wardha), Ramesh Bang from Hingna (Nagpur), Rahul Kalate from Chinchwad and Ajit Gavhane from Bhosari (both in Pune), Mohan Jagtap from Majalgaon and Rajesaheb Deshmukh from Parli (both in Beed) and Siddhi Ramesh Kadam from Mohol seat in Solapur.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies on November 23.In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.
*With Agency Inputs
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