MUMBAI: In an eleventh-hour decision, the state BJP on Wednesday decided to contest the Palus-Kadegaon assembly by-election in Sangli district of western Maharashtra.
The party was able to build consensus over district president Prithviraj Deshmukh's brother Sangram Singh's name. He shall file his nomination papers tomorrow, the party sources have said.
The by-election, scheduled on May 28, was necessitated after the death of sitting Congress MLA and former minister Patangrao Kadam. His son Vishwajeet Kadam has been fielded by the party from the seat in the by-election.Vishwajeet had unsuccessfully contested from the Pune Lok Sabha seat in 2014.
The counting of votes will be held on May 31.
Vishwajeet inherits strong legacy of his father Patangrao Kadam, who was first elected to the Maharashtra legislative assembly in 1985 from Palus-Kadegaon. Patangrao, who is known for the deemed university Bharati Vidyapeeth that he founded, had been a minister in the Congress cabinet for several years and handled influential portfolios including the revenue and the industry. He passed away in March after prolonged illness. Kadams also control cooperatives including sugar mills and dairies in the region.
Sangramsingh Deshmukh, son of former MLA Sampatrao Deshmukh, on the other hand heads the Zilla Parishad and is deputy chief of the district cooperative bank.