Pawar faction's candidates

SUPRIYA SULE (BARAMATI)

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, sitting MP from Baramati, will face facing the toughest electoral battle of her career. Renominated from Baramati, she will contest against Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, her cousin and leader of the breakaway group of NCP that aligned with the ruling coalition last year. For the 54-year-old parliamentarian, this is not just an election, but a family feud over taking control of the party including in their hometurf.

AMOL KOLHE (SHIRUR)

A popular Marathi actor known for essaying the roles of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Sambhaji, Amol Kolhe joined the Shiv Sena to kickstart his career in politics. Ahead of the 2019 elections, he shifted to the NCP and was fielded from Shirur, where he defeated three-term MP and heavyweight of the unified Shiv Sena, Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil. Kolhe sided with the senior Pawar during the split in NCP and is set to face Patil again. This time though, Patil is a candidate of Ajit-led NCP.

NILESH LANKE (AHMEDNAGAR)

A party worker from a humble background, Nilesh Lanke was elected to the assembly in 2019 from Parner in Ahmednagar district. He sided with the Ajit Pawar faction during the split last year, but returned to the senior Pawar on Friday, when he resigned as MLA. The 44-year-old leader is set to face Sujay Vikhe Patil, the Ahmednagar sitting MP who has been renominated by the BJP. Sujay is son of BJP heavy weight Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who controls most co- operative bodies in Ahmednagar district.

AMAR KALE (WARDHA)

A former Congress leader and two-term MLA from Arvi, Amar Kale joined NCP (SP) on Friday and is set to contest Lok Sabha elections for the first time. Kale had initially requested Sharad Pawar to leave the Wardha constituency for the Congress as he was preparing to contest from the seat. But since NCP (SP) did not have a strong candidate, they decided to induct Kale into the party and offered him the NCP (SP) ticket. He will face two-term BJP MP Ramdas Tadas.

BHASKAR BHAGARE (DINDORI)

Bhaskar Bhagare, a Sharad Pawar loyalist, is the Dindori taluka president of NCP (SP) and director of the Dindori Agricultural Produce Market Committee. Known as a down to earth politician, Bhagare started his political career when he was elected sarpanch of Gondegaon (Nashik). In 2007, he was elected president of the Dindori Panchayat Samiti, and in 2017, member of the Zilla Parishad from Khedgaon. Bhagare, chairman of Niphad Taluka Secondary Teachers Cooperative Society, is set to face union minister Bharati Pawar.