India Sets Up Panel To Pick Ls Poll Nominees | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: In a first major step for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, INDIA bloc on Thursday set up a nine-member committee comprising members of Congress, UBT Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led NCP for shortlisting nominees of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Congress will be represented by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, working presidents Naseem Khan and Basvraj Patil; UBT Shiv Sena by MPs Sanjay Raut, Vinayak Raut and Anil Desai; while state NCP president Jayant Patil, former ministers Jeetendra Awhad and Anil Deshmukh will be nominees of Sharad Pawar-led NCP.
MPCC president Nana Patole said INDIA has geared up for the Lok Sabha polls and it is expected that the entire exercise of finalising the nominees will be completed in a time-bound period. “Once the nine-member committee completes its exercise, list of UBT candidates will be placed before Uddhav Thackeray, NCP candidates before Sharad Pawar and AICC will finalize the list of Congress candidates,” said Patole. He said he had a brief meeting with Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday to take stock of the current political situation. “Our aim is clear. We will ensure defeat of BJP. In fact, people of Maharashtra are tired of NDA rule. I am sure, in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, they will not only defeat BJP, but ensure absolute majority for INDIA,” said Patole.
Patole said during his meeting with Thackeray, the entire emphasis on smooth selection of nominees and no constituent will create hurdles in the process. “Elective merit of the candidate will be the main criterion. We will examine pros and cons and select candidates who are sure to win,” Patole said. He also said that the Congress will take revenue division-wise meetings to study the current political situation, particularly after the split in the NCP. “Political situation has changed in several districts after the split in the NCP, accordingly, we will have to change our strategy,” Patole said.
Revenue division-wise review will start from the Konkan region. Patole will take a review of Lok Sabha seats in Kokan on October 7, Western Maharashtra on October 8, North Maharashtra on October 9, Marathwada on October 10, Amravati on October 11 and Nagpur on October 12.
According to a Congress leader, out of 48 seats in state, Congress is expected to contest 22 seats, Shiv Sena 20 seats and NCP eight, subject to consensus among the constituents in INDIA. Congress has proposed to field former MP Milind Deora from South Mumbai; currently Arvind Sawant is representing South Mumbai.