MLC polls: BJP announces nomination for MoS Ranjit Patil

Ruling BJP today announced the candidature of sitting MLC Ranjit Patil and a relative of Union MoS Subhash Bhamre for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections due in December.
Minister of state Patil currently represents Amravati Graduates constituency, whereas Prashant Patil, a close relative of Union Defence MoS Bhamre, is given the nomination from Nashik division Graduates constituency, a party statement said here today.
A total of 11 seats from Teachers, Graduates and Local Authorities constituencies are up for grabs.
Interestingly, the Election Commission is yet to announce the schedule for the election.
According to sources in the BJP, one of the reasons for declaring the candidatures so early is because of the vast nature of the constituencies that cover the entire Revenue division or the entire local authorities (civic bodies) in the constituency.

"Another reason is that Ranjit Patil is expected to face a tough task in retaining his seat and also his berth in the state cabinet," a party leader said.

Prashant Patil is the son-in-law of Bhamre's brother.
He lives in Nashik and is a business partner of Pradeep Pawar who had contested the Nashik seat in 2014 Lok Sabha polls as a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate, but lost.
According to the source, what tipped the scales in favour of Prashant was that Bhamre's another relative, a bureaucrat based in Gujarat had learned to have helped party president Amit Shah in election campaigns.

When contacted, Bhamre said the BJP gives priority to work and not relationships.
After late Daulatrao Aher who had once represented the Nashik Graduates constituency in 1995-99, BJP has struggled to find a suitable candidate to replace him.
Prashant faces an uphill task of wresting the seat from sitting Congress MLC Sudhir Tambe.
The 11 members from state legislative council who will be retiring on December 5 this year include NCP (5), Congress,BJP and Independents (2) each.
The party-wise breakup of numerical strength in the
Upper House as on July 9 this year is: NCP (26), Congress (19), BJP (16), Shiv Sena (8), Lokbharti (1), PWP (I) 1, PRP (1) and Independents 6.

Among those who will be retiring on December 5 are: Vikram Kale (Aurangabad Teachers constituency), Prabhakar Gharge (Sangli-Satara local authorities), Rajendra Jain (Bhandara-Gondia local authorities), Sandip Bajoria (Yavatmal local authorities), Anil Bhosale (Pune local authorities)--all NCP), Dr Sudhir Tambe (Nashik Graduates) and Amarnath Rajurkar (Nanded local authorities)--both Congress.
Gurmukh Das Jagwani (Jalgaon local authorities) and Minister of State for Home (Urban) Ranjit Patil (Amravati Graduates constituency)--both BJP, and Nago Ganar, Nagpur Teachers and Ramnath Mote, Konkan Teachers constituencies respectively.