BJP-backed independent enters Maharashtra council polls as 12th candidate

Former Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party ally Sadabhau Khot on Thursday filed his nomination for the upcoming polls to 10 seats of the state legislative council as a BJP-backed independent candidate.

The BJP, which has fielded five candidates of its own so far, extended its support to Khot.

With Khot's entry, there are now 12 candidates in the arena for the elections to the Upper House of the state legislature to be held on June 20.

BJP's state president Chandrakant Patil accompanied Khot when the latter filed his nomination here.

Khot was earlier a member of the legislative council. He is the founder of Rayat Kranti Sanghatana, which had supported the erstwhile BJP-led government in the state. He was minister of state for agriculture in the Devendra Fadnavis-led dispensation that was in power between 2014 and 2019. 

Patil said, "Khot has filed his nomination as an independent candidate and our party has decided to extend support to him. He is a popular farmer leader in the state."

However, when asked, Patil refused to comment on the protest by the supporters of Pankaja Munde in Aurangabad earlier in the day  against the party's decision not to nominate her for the council polls. They raised slogans in support of Munde while heading towards the BJP office located in Osmanpura area of Aurangabad.

The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies -- Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress -- have named two candidates each for the legislative council polls.

The 10 retiring members are legislative council chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, state Industries Minister Subhash Desai, Diwakar Raote, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Pravin Darekar, Prasad Lad, Maratha leader Vinayak Mete and former minister Sadabhau Khot-- both allies of the BJP, Surjitsinh Thakur, Ravindra Phatak, and Sanjay Daund.