Congress stalwart from Nanded, Ashok Chavan unlikely to contest 2019 Lok Sabha polls

MUMBAI:  Former Maharashtra chief minister and sitting Congress MP Ashok Chavan is not likely to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Nanded constituency, his home turf, party sources said Wednesday.

Chavan is the Maharashtra unit chief of the Congress and sitting MP from Nanded Lok Sabha constituency. He was one of the only two Congress party members who had won the 2014 general elections from Maharashtra, the other being Rajiv Satav, who had won from Hingoli.

Satav is currently the Gujarat Congress in-charge. Chavan's wife Ameeta, who is the MLA from Bhokar constituency in Nanded, is likely to contest the upcoming LS polls, sources in the party said.

Party workers from Nanded had earlier urged Ashok Chavan to contest the Assembly elections scheduled later this year, instead of the Lok Sabha polls.

However, he had told them that a decision regarding contesting elections will be taken by the party's central leadership. The State Election Committee of the Congress, which met Tuesday, discussed the names of the probable candidates for 26 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Party sources said in most of the constituencies, three names have been listed for each seat. While only one name has gone for Solapur (Sushilkumar Shinde), Ramtek (Mukul Wasnik), Yavatmal-Washim (Manikrao Thakre), Mumbai South (Milind Deora).

MLAs K C Padvi and Nirmala Gavit are in the race to get nomination from Nandurbar, while party office-bearer Raju Waghmare and Srirampur MLA Bhausaheb Kamble are the probable candidates for Shirdi seat.

From Wardha, Maharashtra women's cell chief Charulata Tokas and social activist Shailesh Agrawal are in the list of probables.

However, party sources said there is opposition to Tokas from the local party workers.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the NCP have reached a consensus on 44 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra.

The seats, which both the parties are yet to decide on are Ahmednagar, Raver, Aurangabad and Nandurbar.

While the Congress is claiming Ahmednagar and Raver which is in NCP quota, the latter is demanding Aurangabad and Nandurbar seats.