MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to field Bhagirath Bhalke, son of late MLA and the party leader Bharat Bhalke, in the next month's byelection to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly constituency in Maharashtra.
The BJP has fielded former Shiv Sena leader Samadhan Autade against Bhalke for the April 17 bypoll.
Autade quit the Sena after the 2019 state assembly elections and joined the BJP.
Bhalke and Autade are owners of sugar mills in Solapur region.
Farmers in the region had protested against certain sugar mills for deferring payment for the sale of sugarcane, which is one of the crucial issues in the upcoming contest.
NCP leader and sitting MLA Bharat Bhalke had died due to COVID-19 infection.
NCP state unit president Jayant Patil and his BJP counterpart Chandrakant Patil will attend the submission of nomination papers of the candidates of their respective parties on Tuesday.