Bhausaheb Rupnar is 11-time MLA's political heir in Sangola

Solapur: The Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) on Sunday announced Bhausaheb Rupnar as the political heir to its 11-time sitting MLA Ganpatrao Deshmukh (93) from the drought-prone Sangola assembly segment in Solapur district.

Deshmukh recently informed the party of his decision to withdraw from electoral politics due to old age and sought a suitable candidate to replace him.

At a press conference in Sangola, PWP’s general secretary and senior leader Jayant Patil and Deshmukh jointly declared Rupnar as the party’s nominee from Sangola, a party bastion for over five decades now, for the impending state assembly polls.

Deshmukh holds the record for being the oldest and longest serving elected representative in the state legislature, having lost only twice, in 1972 and 1995 assembly polls from Sangola.

He has twice been a minister in the state cabinet, but spent his political career in the opposition. Throughout his 50-odd years stint, Deshmukh has remained loyal to the PWP. Deshmukh’s son’s name touted, but his political credentials were largely untested.

Rupnar heads Fabtech Projects and Engineers, an industrial firm registered at Bhosari MIDC in Pune. The group also runs educational institutions. Rupnar hails from Medsingi village in Sangola taluka.

Rupnar’s entry has opened the contest in Sangola assembly segment as political observers said Deshmukh’s presence in electoral fray would have made it a lopsided fight. Shiv Sena’s former MLA Shahaji Patil and NCP’s former MLC Deepak Salunkhe-Patil are fancying their chances in Sangola. Sena’s Patil, who has been a traditional rival to Deshmukh, has started his preparation to fight from Sangola while NCP’s Salunkhe-Patil, who recently quit as the party’s district unit president, has staked his claim for a nomination from this seat. He is busy with election groundwork.