Maha polls: NCP(SP) releases 3rd list; fields actor Swara Bhaskar's husband

The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) on Sunday announced its third list of candidates for nine seats for the Maharashtra assembly polls, the names including actor Swara Bhaskar's husband Fahad Ahmad.

Ahmad, who was the state president of the Samajwadi Party youth wing, switched over to the NCP (SP), which promptly fielded him from Anushakti Nagar seat here. He will take on Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Sana Malik, daughter of former minister Nawab Malik, who was arrested in February 2022 by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly usurping a property in Kurla here with the help of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's sister. Nawab Malik, the sitting MLA from Anushakti Nagar, was released on bail last year. He then sided with the Ajit Pawar faction, though he was not renominated, possibly due to objection from ally BJP. The nine names were declared by NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil. With this, the party has announced candidates for 76 seats. Eleven of its candidates are women. The Sharad Pawar-led party has fielded Dnyayak Patni, son of late BJP MLA Rajendra Patni, from Karanja seat in Washim district. Rajendra Patni, who won the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections on a BJP ticket, died in February this year. However, his son chose to join the NCP (SP). Other candidates announced by the party include Atul Wandile from Hinganghat (in Wardha), Ramesh Bang from Hingna (Nagpur), Rahul Kalate from Chinchwad and Ajit Gavhane from Bhosari (both in Pune), Mohan Jagtap from Majalgaon and Rajesaheb Deshmukh from Parli (both in Beed) and Siddhi Ramesh Kadam from Mohol seat in Solapur. Polls to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will take place on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23.