NAGPUR: Political namesakes contesting from a single constituency often confuse voters. This time, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) has fielded Anil Deshmukh from Katol who is in no way linked to Maharashtra’s former home minister and NCP(SCP) neta Anil Deshmukh, who has represented the constituency five times – four of which were on the ‘clock’ symbol.
The twist, however, lies in their full names. The one contesting on ‘clock’ symbol this time is Anil Shankarrao Deshmukh of NCP, and he is pitted against Salil Deshmukh of NCP(SCP), the son of former minister Anil Deshmukh.
However, NCP’s Deshmukh, who declared total assets of Rs 6.06 lakh in his poll affidavit, is not in the race for Katol seat as Mahayuti’s official candidate. BJP‘s Charansingh Thakur is the party’s and alliance’s official candidate.
Political analysts suggest that NCP’s Anil Deshmukh contesting on ‘clock’ symbol could potentially impact the vote share of debutant Salil, who will be contesting on NCP(SCP) symbol of ‘man blowing trumpet’.
Previously, the ‘clock’ symbol was associated with undivided NCP and currently, it is with the Ajit faction. The fight between the two NCP factions over the poll symbol is still pending in Supreme Court.