LS polls: Shiv Sena leader Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil joins NCP, declared party nominee from Shirur

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday declared the candidature of Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil from Shirur Lok Sabha constituency after the Shiv Sena leader joined the Nationalist Congress Party.

Patil will be the candidate of the tripartite Mahayuti alliance.

Pawar has also announced the candidature of sitting NCP MP Sunil Tatkare from the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency in the coastal region.

Patil joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP at a party congregation held in Manchar village in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district which falls under the Shirur LS constituency.

"I welcome Adhalrao Patil and other leaders in the NCP. I am sure all will work unitedly during the elections in Pune district to ensure victory for Mahayuti nominees," said Pawar.

Pawar appealed to NCP workers to ensure Patil's victory against actor-turned-politician and sitting MP from Shirur, Amol Kolhe, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar camp.

"Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil will be the official candidate of Mahayuti from the Shirur constituency. I caution the party cadres not to be lax," he said.

Taking potshots at Kolhe, who played roles of Chhatrapati Shivaji in Marathi serials, Pawar said he is an expert in delivering dialogues.

"One can deliver dialogues in movies and plays but the real test of the MP is to toil for the people, something Adhalrao Patil is fully capable of," said Pawar.

He claimed that Kolhe had approached him and offered to resign when NCP was united.

"He (Kolhe) had told me that politics is not his forte and his priority was acting. If you never wanted to work, why did you join politics and become an MP?" Pawar asked.

He alleged Kolhe is never available for the people of Shirur.

"You need an MP who will remain available for the people and Adhalrao Patil is the one," Pawar added.