K'taka Polls: NCP Issues First Candidate List Of 9 Names, Ajit Pawar Not Included In Star Campaigners

NCP leader Ajit Pawar's name is not included in the list of party's star campaigners

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) issued its first list of nine candidates for Karnataka Assembly elections, also naming star campaigners where Ajit Pawar is not included.

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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) issued its first list of nine candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections, also naming star campaigners. Party leader Ajit Pawar's name is not included in the list of campaigners. This comes as speculations are rife that the former Maharashtra deputy chief minister could join the BJP even though he denied the rumours. 

NCP issues its first list of nine candidates for Karnataka Assembly elections, also names star campaigners

Party leader Ajit Pawar's name is not included in the list. pic.twitter.com/P4sDEcIYCx

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2023

Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Tuesday dismissed all the rumours floating around about him leaving the party and joining the BJP. "I am with the NCP and will remain with the party," Ajit Pawar said. Maharashtra Assembly LoP denied allegations made against him in recent news reports that he had taken the signatures of some MLAs. 

In a press briefing, Pawar said that the news being circulated was "not even an iota of truth" and that "such news creates confusion in the mind of the worker". 

As for the Karnataka Election, The Sharad Pawar-led party is planning to contest at least 40 seats in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections where the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, and the JD(S) are locked in a triangular contest.

Last week, NCP chief Pawar summoned a meeting of party leaders in Mumbai on Saturday to finalise its plans for the assembly elections in Karnataka.

Karnataka Election 2023: NCP To Support Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti

The NCP's decision to contest the May 10 election is also seen as a move to regain the national party status it had to forego due to its depleted political fortunes in states such as Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur.

The NCP had written to the Election Commission for allocation of the ‘alarm clock’ symbol for the Karnataka Assembly elections, a request that was acceded to by the poll authority.

According to news agency PTI, NCP leaders say the party will extend support to the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti in the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary region which is home to a sizeable Marathi-speaking population.

The Congress has pinned its hopes on a big victory in the Karnataka Assembly polls as it yearns for a reversal of its sliding electoral performance since the loss in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Voting in the state will take place on May 10 and counting is scheduled for May 13.