Four-cornered contest in Palghar
A four-cornered battle for the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency seems to be on the cards as the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) on Wednesday announced that it would field former MP Baliram Jadhav.
The move comes after the announcements that the Shiv Sena would field late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Chintaman Wanga’s son, Shrinivas Wanga; the BJP would field Congress turncoat Rajendra Gavit; and the Congress alliance would field former MP and tribal leader Damodar Shingda.
With the BVA throwing its hat in the ring, the battle for the Palghar seat has become fierce.
Out of the six Assembly constituencies in Palghar, Thakur’s party has three MLAs, BJP has two, and the Sena has one. The constituency consists of predominantly a tribal population but also has an urban demographic close to Mumbai where the BVA holds sway.
Vasai legislator Hitendra Thakur, who heads the BVA, has said that he is confident of a win.
“I am confident that our candidate Baliram Jadhav will emerge victorious. He has worked for the people of the region and he is not an imported candidate,” Thakur said.
Traditionally, Thakur’s party has supported the party in power — he had supported the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra from 2004-2014 — and is currently backing the BJP-led government in the state.