Summary:
“He was desperate to contest the polls and even tried for a Shiv Sena ticket. Wankhede had contested the last Lok Sabha poll against Satav on Shiv Sena ticket and was defeated by a margin only 1,632 votes. The former CM had registered a win by over 80,000 votes during the last Lok Sabha polls despite the ‘Modi wave’. The Congress too was desperate in search of candidate in the wake of withdrawal of Satav from the race. Blaming non-cooperation from a section of Sena camp for his defeat, Wankhede had ditched Shiv Sena and joined BJP.Wankhede, who had defeated senior NCP leader Suryakanta Patil in 2009, could pose a tough challenge in Hingoli Lok Sabha seat.By allotting ticket to Wankhede, Congress tried to encash on the dissent brewing within the BJP camp..