`Adarsh` fight: Ashok Chavan pitted against BJP man in Nanded

Nanded: It is an `Adarsh` fight in Nanded Lok Sabha constituency in Marathwada region where Adarsh scam-tainted former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is pitted against BJP MP D B Patil.

Though there are 23 candidates in the fray for the April 17 poll, the real fight will be between Chavan and Patil. There are six Assembly segments in the Nanded LS constituency and all are held by Congress. Chavan represents the Bhokar seat in state Assembly. There were reports that the announcement of Chavan`s candidature was delayed as the Congress leadership weighed the "winnability" factor against the negative publicity which he got in Adarsh Housing Society scam. Chavan was first elected to Lok Sabha from Nanded in 1987 but was defeated in 1989 poll by a Janata Dal candidate. Nanded has always been his bastion. His father late S B Chavan, in his stint as chief minister and Union minister, had initiated many development projects in the district. BJP candidate Patil says, "There is both a pro-Modi wave and an anti-Chavan wave." Patil won the seat in 2004 and later joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) before returning to BJP. There are six Muslim candidates in fray in the constituency having 13 per cent population from their community. Nanded is famous for the Hazur Sahib Gurudwara, the place where tenth Sikh guru breathed his last and attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year.