Ex-Union minister Pratik Patil unhappy over Cong not getting Sangli LS seat

Ex-Union minister Pratik Patil unhappy over Cong not getting Sangli LS seat

Former Union minister Pratik Patil, the grandson of ex-Maharashtra chief minister late Vasantdada Patil, has expressed dismay over the Congress ceding the Sangli Lok Sabha seat, once his family bastion, to ally Shiv Sena (UBT).

Talking to PTI here on Tuesday, Pratik Patil, who served as minister of state in the Manmohan Singh government, said he had quit the Congress after it gave in to ally NCP (then undivided) to ''weaken'' Vasantdada Patil's family.

Notably, Vasantdada Patil and Rajarambapu Patil, both Congress stalwarts, were rivals in Sangli. State NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil is Rajarambapu's son.

''Vasantdada Patil may no longer be alive, but his faction within the Maharashtra Congress still exists even if it is non-functional,'' he said.

The Congress, a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), had staked a claim over Sangli in western Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, but the constituency was allotted to the Shiv Sena (UBT) as per the seat-sharing formula finalised by the three-party opposition alliance.

Congress politician Vishal Patil, the younger brother of Pratik Patil, who was eyeing a party ticket for the Sangli Lok Sabha constituency, on Monday filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from the seat.

The Congress has been persuading him to withdraw his candidature.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded wrestler-turned-politician Chandrahar Patil from Sangli, which will vote in the third phase on May 7 along with 10 other Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

The Sangli Lok Sabha seat was held by Vasantdada Patil's family from 1980 to 2014.

Pratik Patil lost the 2014 Lok Sabha poll from Sangli on Congress' ticket.

In 2019, when the Congress asked him to contest, he told the party that he was willing but did not have funds. The Congress then gave the seat to farmer leader Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Paksha.

Pratik Patil then wanted his brother Vishal to contest from Sangli. The Congress then allowed Vishal to contest on Swabhimani Paksha's ticket.

''In the last 10 years, my younger brother Vishal worked hard to establish Congress' control over Sangli district by facilitating its win over maximum local bodies seats. The Congress also assured him a ticket for the Lok Sabha poll from Sangli and his supporters had been working for his victory. But, the Congress (this time) allowed the Shiv Sena (UBT) to walk away with the seat,'' he said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) says it wants a seat in western Maharashtra when it has already taken Hatkanangale, Pratik Patil said.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar suggested to Kolhapur royal family scion Shahu Chhatrapati to contest from Kolhapur Lok Sabha seat as the MVA nominee and the latter selected Congress for his poll fray, he said.

''Where was the Congress in this decision-making? The Congress leadership didn't discuss with us about giving Sangli to the Shiv Sena (UBT). If the Shiv Sena (UBT) wanted Sangli, why didn't Uddhav Thackeray take Vishal as his candidate rather than wrestler Chandrahar Patil? In 2019 also, Vishal had contested as the Swabhimani Paksha nominee,'' Pratik Patil said.

He claimed there used to be a tacit understanding between Bal Thackeray and Vasantdada Patil that the Shiv Sena (then undivided) will never contest against the latter's family in Sangli.

Pratik Patil said whenever he visits different parts of Maharashtra, several senior Congressmen come to meet him recalling their association with Vasantdada Patil and how they have kept his memory alive.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)