Maharashtra: Former chief ministers' sons join poll fray to hold on family turfs in Latur

Aurangabad: All eyes are on the sons of former chief ministers from Latur this election.

While former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s sons — Amit and Dhiraj — are fighting to hold the family’s sway over Latur, skill development minister and former CM Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar’s grandson Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar is contesting from Nilanga.

Dhiraj Deshmukh has joined the poll fray for the first time and is facing Shiv Sena nominee Sachin Deshmukh. The Shiv Sena candidate has not got expected support from BJP workers. In 2014, the seat was contested by BJP’s Ramesh Karad.

The BJP has swapped it with Ausa to make room for chief minister’s personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar, leaving Karad in the lurch. Karad is considered to be a supporter of rural development minister Pankaja Munde.

Amit Deshmukh faces a challenge from BJP’s Shailesh Lahoti and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi nominee Rajasab Maniyar from Latur city. Its a fight between uncle and nephew in Nilanga, where Congress has fielded Ashok Nilangekar, son of late Shivajirao, to take on his nephew Sambhaji.

In Udgir constituency, it is a straight fight between BJP’s Anil Kamble, a doctor based in Parbhani, and Sanjay Bansode of the NCP. Bansode made Udgir his second home after losing the 2014 election to BJP’s Sudhakar Bhalerao. Discontent among the BJP workers here has made Kamble’s task a little difficult.

In Ausa, Congress has fielded sitting MLA Basavraj Patil against Pawar, who faced strong opposition from BJP and Shiv Sena groups. BJP’s ZP agriculture committee chairman Bajrang Jadhav is contesting as an independent with the backing of Shiv Sena’s Dinkar Mane. Its going to be in interesting triangular fight here.

BJP nominee and sitting MLA Vinayakrao Patil, who in 2014 got elected as an independent, faces multi-cornered challenge in Ahmedpur. NCP’s Babasaheb Patil, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Ayodhya Ashok Kendre, and Dilip Deshmukh, who had sought BJP ticket from Amhmedpur. Though MIM has fielded Udgir councillor Taher Hussain, he is being labelled an “outsider”.