BJP fields Nagpur Mayor Anil Sole to contest MLC election

Maharashtra BJP has chosen Nagpur Mayor Anil Sole as the party candidate for the Graduate constituency poll scheduled next month.

Sole will be contesting from Nagpur Graduate, the seat presently held by former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, whose term is expiring in July, party sources said.

Gadkari was elected after Gangadharrao Phadanvis, father of state BJP unit chief Devendra Phadanvis, passed away in 1988.

Gadkari was elected as Member of Parliament from Nagpur city in the recently-concluded general elections.

Former standing committee chairman of BJP-ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Sandeep Joshi was also keen to fight the election, but finally the party selected Sole yesterday, sources said.

The Congress has announced the candidature of Babanrao Taywade, while former IAS officer Kishore Gajbhiye has also decided to contest.

The Election Commission has announced programme for the biennial election to five Legislative Council seats in the state. While the election notification will be published on May 27, the code of conduct in the respective polling areas has come into force from Tuesday.

The polling will be held on June 20 and results will be declared on June 24.

The five seats - three from Graduates constituency of Nagpur, Pune and Aurangabad and two from Teachers' constituency of Amravati and Pune - will fall vacant in July.