Maharashtra BJP yet to find candidate for Council poll

Mumbai, Aug 17: Maharashtra BJP is yet to find a suitable candidate for the election to the Legislative Council seat, which fell vacant after senior party leader Gopinath Munde's estranged nephew resigned and joined NCP.

Dhananjay Munde quit BJP and also resigned his Upper House seat and joined the Sharad Pawar-led party last month. NCP is part of the Congress-led coalition Government in Maharashtra, while BJP is the main Opposition party in the State.

The election to fill the vacant seat has been slated for September 2, but BJP is yet to announce its nominee. "We are in search of a suitable candidate. BJP will contest the election.

The last date of filing nominations is August 23 and we will announce our nominee before that," Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council and BJP member Vinod Tawde said yesterday.

Dhananjay, while joining the NCP, had stated that he would serve the party in whatever capacity he is asked to. He was elected to the Council from the Legislative Assembly quota and three years of his tenure were left.

Dhananjay wanted to contest the Parli Assembly seat in 2009 but his uncle Gopinath chose his daughter Pankaja and sent his nephew to the Upper House to mollify him. Parli in Marathwada region is part of the Beed Lok Sabha seat which is represented by Gopinath.

PTI