Pawar addresses rally in rain

NCP chief Sharad Pawar addressed a campaign rally in heavy rain on Friday evening at Satara in western Maharashtra, where a Lok Sabha by-election will be held alongiwth the state Assembly elections on October 21.

During his brief speech, the 78-year-old NCP patriarch, who got completely drenched in the rain, said he committed "a mistake" in selecting candidate for the Lok Sabha earlier this year, but people were now waiting to correct it.

The NCP had fielded Udayanraje Bhosale, descendant of Shivaji Maharaj, from the Satara Parliamentary seat.

Bhosale, who won the seat, quit the party ahead of Assembly polls and joined the BJP, which has fielded him for the by-election.

The NCP has now fielded Shrinivas Patil against Bhosale.

"The rain god has blessed the NCP for the October 21 election. And with the blessings of the rain god, Satara district will create a miracle in Maharashtra. That miracle will begin from October 21," Pawar told the gathering.

"When one makes a mistake, one should admit it. I made a mistake while selecting candidate for the Lok Sabha poll. I accept this publicly. But I am happy that to correct the mistake, every young and old person in Satara is waiting for October 21," he added.

He continued to attack Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for stating that "no wrestler from the opposition parties" was in sight during the Assembly elections.

"The chief minister says no wrestler is in sight. It doesn't suit the people in the BJP to talk about wrestling and wrestlers," he quipped.