Shriram Patil: Aiming To Rewrite History In Raver, BJP Bastion (image:facebook.com/ShriramDayaramPatil)

To dismantle sitting BJP MP Raksha Khadse“s hope for a hat-trick win in Maharashtra”s Raver constituency, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) has fielded local businessman Shriram Patil. Earlier with the BJP, Patil joined the NCP (SCP) last month. By fielding Shriram Patil, a Maratha candidate, Sharad Pawar is aiming for the community vote bank.

Shriram Patil is the managing director of Shri Sairam Plastics and Irrigation. Besides his acumen in the business field, he is a renowned social worker. Patil is the chairman of the Shri Ram Foundation. Since he is a known figure in Rover, the party intends to convert Patil”s popularity into a vote bank. Regarding his plans and promises, Shriram Patil said that the BJP MP and her family have been politically dominating the region for a while, and he will facilitate change and development that his predecessors have failed to initiate.

However, Shriram Patil”s candidacy was not without setbacks. Reportedly, close to 200 NCP (SCP) workers resigned from the party after giving tickets to Patil. The nomination of Shriram Patil created resentment among party workers since they expected Jalgaon district president Ravindra Patil or former MLA Santosh Chaudhari as the candidate for the seat.

The Raver constituency has been a stronghold of the BJP ever since its formation after the 2008 delimitation. The saffron party has secured victory in all the three previous Lok Sabha polls. Raksha Khadse is the daughter-in-law of Eknath Khadse, a veteran politician (then with the BJP, now with the NCP) from Maharashtra.