Rajendra Shingne: Contesting As A Pawar Loyalist In Sindhkhed Raja (image:facebook.com/DrShingnespeaks)

Sindhkhed Raja, Maharashtra: Ahead of Assembly Elections in Maharashtra, in a setback for Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Rajendra Shingne from Sindhkhed Raja joined Sharad Pawar-led NCP in October. In the upcoming polls, he is contesting from the constituency on a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ticket.

Shingne is a five-term MLA from Sindhkhed Raja in Eastern Maharashtra. He had joined Ajit Pawar-led NCP last year which is part of the ruling BJP-led coalition government. He is considered as a close associate of Ajit Pawar. In August this year, Shingne revealed that he had no choice but to go with Ajit’s grouping because the district cooperative bank under his control was in trouble.

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“My district cooperative bank fell into trouble and I joined the Ajit Pawar faction out of compulsion. The state government has granted a sum of ₹300 crore for the bank but I will always revere Pawar saheb,” the Hindustan Times quotes, as Shingne is saying.

Shingne got first elected to the assembly in 1995 as an independent candidate and joined NCP in 1999. He contested and won the seat in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2019. In the last Assembly election in 2019, he won the seat with 81,701 votes. He defeated sitting Shiv Sena MLA Shashikant Khedekar by a margin of 8,938 votes. He has also served as Cabinet minister during different periods, and handled departments including Education, Revenue, Health and Family Welfare.

The Sindkhed Raja constituency is located in the Buldhana district. The 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on November 20 and counting of votes will take place on November 23. The Assembly elections mark first one in the state after Shiv Sena and  NCP split in 2022, and 2023 respectively.

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The ruling Mahayuti alliance consists of the BJP, the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena, and the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).  The opposition alliance comprise the INDIA bloc’s MVA or the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which has the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), or SS (UBT) led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray, the NCP (SP) faction led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress.