Days after ditching Congress, Ashok Chavan and Mlind Deora nominated for RS polls

Days after ditching the Congress party, Ashok Chavan and Milind Deora were nominated for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections by their parties.

The BJP named former Maharashtra chief minister Chavan from his home state and its president JP Nadda from Gujarat. Whereas, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena nominated Milind Deora from Maharashtra.

Nadda, who earlier contested from Himachal Pradesh, is being fielded from Gujarat because the BJP doesn't have the adequate number of MLAs to secure a lone seat from the Congress-ruled state.

Chavan, who had served as the state chief minister twice earlier, joined the BJP on Tuesday, a day after quitting he quit the Congress. The 65-year-old leader, who spent nearly four decades in the grand old party, hails from Nanded district.

The BJP earlier targeted him time and again for his alleged involvement in the Adarsh Housing Society scam. He had to step down as the CM in 2010 for his involvement in the scam, wherein a high-rise structure was allegedly erected on disputed land without due approvals.

Besides Chavan, BJP has also named ex-MLA Medha Kulkarni and RSS worker Dr Ajit Gopchade for the upcoming elections from Maharashtra.

The political observers argue that the BJP has tried to do a balancing act by nominating Chavan, who joined the party just a day ago, and by giving a chance to party loyalists to represent it in the Upper House of Parliament, reports PTI news agency.

Medha Kulkarni, a professor, started her political career as a corporator in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). She won her maiden assembly election from Kothrud constituency in Pune in 2014. However, she was denied a ticket by the party in the 2019 state polls to make way for the then MLC and state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil.

Disgruntled after being denied a ticket, she was later appointed as the vice president of the BJP women's wing.

The third candidate - Dr Gopchade - is a lesser-known name.

Gopchade, who hails from Nanded, has been a staunch supporter and worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP. He is currently the head of the doctors' cell of the BJP in Maharashtra.

(With PTI inputs)

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