Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan, Nawab Malik's daughter Sana figure in NCP's 2nd list of 7 nominees

Mumbai, Oct 25 (IANS) The NCP on Friday released its second list of seven more candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections fielding former minister Nawab Malik's daughter Sana Malik and former minister Baba Siddique's son and former Congress legislator Zeeshan Siddique. 

Zeeshan joined the NCP on Friday in the presence of party President Ajit Pawar and state unit chief Sunil Tatkare and soon after that, his nomination was announced. He will take on Shiv Sena-UBT nominee Varun Sardesai in Bandra East.

Former BJP leaders Sanjaykaka Patil and Nishikant Patil have also joined the NCP.

The NCP, which released the first list of 38 nominees, announced the second list after a meeting between Pawar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday over the seat-sharing formula with the BJP and the Shiv Sena. The NCP hopes to get 55 to 58 seats in the Mahayuti's seat-sharing deal.

From Anushakti Nagar constituency, represented by Nawab Malik, who is on medical bail in connection with the money laundering case, the NCP has fielded his daughter Sana.

Nawab Malik, who had expressed his desire to contest from the adjoining Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat, currently represented by Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi, was expecting to be nominated soon.

The NCP nominated Sanjaykaka Patil, who lost to an independent Vishal Patil from Sangli constituency in the Lok Sabha elections, from Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal seat against former deputy chief minister late RR Patil's son and NCP SP nominee Rohit Patil.

The NCP also nominated Nishikant Patil against state NCP-SP president and former minister Jayant Patil from the Islampur constituency.

The party has renominated Sunil Tingre from Wadgaonkar Sheri constituency in the Pune district. Tingre grabbed the headlines after the hit-and-run case in Pune.

On May 19, a 17-year-old juvenile was driving a luxury car that crashed into a bike killing two young riders in Kalyaninagar. After the accident, Tingre purportedly rushed to the police station to save the juvenile. Further, it was also claimed that Tingre was trying to influence the probe by using his political clout. However, Ajit Pawar stood in Tingre's support.

Furthermore, the party has nominated former BJP MP from Nanded Pratap Chikhalikar, who lost to the Congress nominee late Vasant Chavan from Nanded start in the general elections, from the Lodha seat. Chikhalikar had recently joined NCP.

The party has nominated Dnyanewhar Katke from the Shirur seat against NCP-SP candidate Ashok Pawar.

--IANS

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