Ramtek, (Maharashtra), April 4 (IANS): The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led by Prakash Ambedkar has withdrawn its official candidate from Ramtek (SC) constituency and instead extended support to an independent, a top party leader said here on Thursday.

The VBA had earlier nominated Kishore U. Gajbhiye for the prestigious reserved seat, said the party Vice-President Siddharth Mokle.

However, after Gajbhiye’s nomination encountered certain technical issues, the party replaced him with Shankar C. Chahande, a local political veteran, while Gajbhiye entered the fray as an independent.

Considering the prevailing political circumstances, the party has now decided to withdraw Chahande from the contest and will support Gajbhiye to avoid a vote-split, Mokle said.

On his part, Gajbhiye expressed his gratitude to Ambedkar for supporting his candidature, which is expected to prevent a division of votes in this constituency, an erstwhile Congress bastion, which had also elected a future PM, the late P. V. Narasimha Rao twice (1984 & 1989).

As an independent, Gajbhiye will lock horns with the ruling MahaYuti-Shiv Sena nominee Raju D. Parve, and the Congress’ Shyamrao D. Barve – who replaced his wife Rashmi S. Barve after her caste certificate was invalidated, and she was denied any legal relief today (April 4, 2024).