Congress Faces Setback as Utkarsh Rupwate Joins Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi Over Shirdi Seat Denial

Akola: Upset over being denied a ticket from The Shirdi Lok Sabha seat by the Maha Vikas Aghadi( MVA), Utkarsh Rupwate has joined the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) after resigning from the Congress yesterday. Utkarsh Rupvate joined the party in Akola in the presence of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar. On this occasion, State Vice President of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi Prof. Kisan Chavan, and District President Vishal Kolge were present. The Congress has suffered a major setback in the run-up to the elections.

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Utkarsh Rupwate was a Congress candidate from Shirdi Lok Sabha seat. However, in the Maha Vikas Aghadi seat-sharing arrangement, the seat went to the Shiv Sena (Thackeray group). Utkarsh Rupvate was upset that the Congress had repeatedly denied her Lok Sabha ticket. Utkarsh Rupwate has finally quit the Congress. Now, Utkarsh Rupwate is likely to contest the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat from Vanchit.
 
The Shirdi Lok Sabha seat could see a triangular contest if Bhausaheb Wakchaure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Sadashiv Lokhande of the Mahayuti, and Utkarsh Rupwate of the Vanchit party are announced as candidates. 

Utkarsh Rupwate had been demanding the party's high command to give the seat to the Congress for the past several days. However, she was aggressive after the Thackeray faction announced Bhausaheb Wakchaure as its candidate for the seat. She had once again demanded that the party high command reconsider her decision. Earlier, it was reported that Utkarsh Rupvate was in touch with the VBA for the Shirdi Lok Sabha elections. Utkarsh Rupvate had also met Prakash Ambedkar in Mumbai a few days ago.  

Meanwhile, Pune-based businessman Vinod Ahire had also demanded a ticket for the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat. Vinod Ahire hails from Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district. A few days ago, he met Prakash Ambedkar in Akola. With this, all eyes are now on who will get the ticket from Vanchit in the Shirdi Lok Sabha constituency.