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Shiv Sena candidate joins Congress

Sanjay Ghatge, former Shiv Sena member of the legislative assembly and the party's candidate for the Kagal assembly constituency in the recently announced list for Maharashtra, formally joined the Congress party along with a large number of supporters yesterday.

Ghatge said the main reason for his quitting the Sena and joining the Congress was to defeat his traditional rival group led by Nationalist Congress Party politicians Sadashiv Mandlik and Hasan Musriff.

His decision was taken in the interest of local politics and to avoid the division of votes that would benefit the NCP.

The decision came after taking into consideration the views of his supporters, Ghatge said. He thanked Sena leader Bal Thackeray and other Sena politicians for extending their co-operation to him during his tenure with that party.

A former Janata Dal politician, Ghatge moved over to the Shiv Sena and won the Kagal assembly seat on its ticket last year defeating the then united Congress candidate Musriff.

Ghatge's defection comes as a setback to the Shiv Sena in Kolhapur district, as earlier Nivedita Mane, who had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha election from Ichalkaranji constituency on the Sena ticket, left the party and joined the NCP recently.

Industrialist-turned-politician Madhav Mahadik, who became a member of the legislative council with the support of the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, also recently joined the NCP along with Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh [District Co-operative Milk Production Collective] chairman Arun Narke.

UNI

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