Indomitable Seven-time MLA Jayant Patil To Test His Legacy With Rival NCP's Challenge In Islampur

Islampur, a bastion of the NCP and its leader Jayant Patil, the constituency has not seen other names for more than three decades. The ability of the Islampur MLA to beat anti-incumbency has been hailed for long. Since 1990, Jayant Patil has been representing the seat, winning seven times. Jayant Patil‘s vote share has also remained stable, with him maintaining over 70,000 votes lead even during the 2019 assembly elections. It is interesting that the politician has realised the meaning of his name ‘Jayant’ by being victorious and not experiencing the taste of defeat since his debut.

Following the split in the NCP, the MLA stood with Sharad Pawar’s faction. The NCP SP has now renominated the sitting MLA as an MVA candidate. Over the course of his political tenure, the NCP SP president, son of former Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and veteran Congress leader, has handled various portfolios. Jayant Patil began as a Congress leader and won his debut in 1990 in the ticket provided by the grand old party. He became the youngest finance minister of Maharashtra, presenting his first budget at the age of 39.

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After the formation of the NCP, he has been a prominent leader of the party. His victory in the 2014 assembly elections made him one of the vocal figures in the assembly although the party faced one of its biggest defeats in the state. It is said that one of the major reasons for Jayant Patil to overcome the anti-incumbency is his dedication to the upliftment of the people. A philanthropist, Jayant also runs various societies and educational institutions in addition to the development efforts taken in his constituency.

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However, since the split in the party, it is to be tested whether people would go for the personal charisma that the incumbent MLA has built over the years. From being unbeatable, the only challenger to the Jayant Patil now is the rival NCP headed by Ajit Pawar. The Mahayuti has fielded Nishikant Prakash Bhosale-Patil to tackle the Islampur strongman on Ajit Pawar’s NCP ticket. Notably, during the 2019 assembly elections, Prakash Bhosale had contested as an independent from Islampur, becoming the runner-up and securing over 40,000 votes.

With the split in NCP, the seven-time MLA has some reasons to be wary, wondering if he can sail through the battle as he did before seamlessly given the challenge stemming from rival NCP candidate Nishikant Prakash Bhosale-Patil.