Mahayuti partners to contest Gokul election together

Kolhapur: Amid visible rifts within Mahayuti in Kolhapur over the upcoming elections to the Gokul Dairy, alliance politicians on Saturday announced a unified panel named Chhatrapati Shahu Shetkari Vikas Aghadi and said they will contest the polls together.

The decision was taken at a key meeting held at the Residency Club in Kolhapur around 3 m, attended by senior politicians including medical education minister Hasan Mushrif, higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil, guardian minister Prakash Abitkar, MP Dhananjay Mahadik, MLA Vinay Kore, MLA Amal Mahadik and Jansurajya Yuva Morcha state president Samit Kadam.

Addressing concerns over internal differences, Kore said the alliance had resolved misunderstandings. “Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked all of us to hold a meeting of Mahayuti. Accordingly, all of us had a very good discussion in connection with the election planning. If we go together as Mahayuti, a very good picture will be created in the district. There was some rift among some of our own members, creating doubts about whether Mahayuti will come together or not for Gokul elections. Slight misunderstandings were created. Today, all these topics and discussions have come to an end. We will face this election as a Mahayuti together.”

The politicians said the meeting helped iron out differences that had triggered speculation about a split in the alliance ahead of the crucial dairy body election.

Meanwhile, Chandrakant Patil also attended multiple programmes during his visit on Saturday. Alongside the Gokul Dairy meeting, he inaugurated the Kanchantai Parulekar Skill Development and Personality Development Training Centre, visited the Savli Care Centre, and later attended the inauguration of the Hitaishi Counseling Centre.