Mumbai: Amid talks that Prithviraj Chavan might be the MVA’s pick for the Satara Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra, the senior Congress leader made it clear on Wednesday that he was ready to fight the election only on his party’s “hand” symbol and not that of ally NCP (SP).
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT), is yet to officially declare a candidate for the Satara seat.
This seat in western Maharashtra is currently represented by Shriniwas Patil of the NCP (SP). However, he has shown unwillingness to fight the upcoming parliamentary elections citing health reasons, as a result of which NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar is looking for a candidate.
The poll symbol of NCP (SP) is man blowing tutari/turha (traditional trumpet). In the seat-sharing deal, the NCP (SP) swapped the Amravati seat with Wardha with the Congress but fielded former Congress MLA Amar Kale on its symbol from there.
Talking to PTI about Satara as his name as an MVA candidate is doing rounds, Chavan said, “Fighting the election on the NCP (SP) poll symbol of man blowing turha is out of question.”
The former Maharashtra chief minister said he had already made it clear that if he is allowed to contest as a Congress nominee, he is ready to fight the Lok Sabha polls from Satara.
