KOLHAPUR: NCP chief Sharad Pawar 's withdrawal from the Madha Lok Sabha contest has compounded the worries for the party, which now has to tackle the demands of all factions in Solapur.Keeping a close watch on the developments within the NCP, BJP has shortlisted the names of three prominent local leaders to contest from the key constituency.Selecting a candidate for Madha has become a tough decision for NCP in view of the sharp differences among party leaders. While NCP has a number of serious aspirants, all of them owe loyalty to one or the other local group. The NCP is divided vertically in Solapur district . The Mohite-Patil family still holds key to the party decision.Current MP Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil and his son Ranjitsinh are the top contenders for the NCP, besides retired bureaucrat Prabhakar Deshmukh, NCP Solapur district unit chief Deepak Salunkhe and Satara zilla parishad president Sanjaysinh Naik-Nimbalkar.A day after Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil' meeting with BJP leaders in Mumbai, the party leadership on Tuesday summoned Solapur zilla parishad president Sanjay Shinde to discuss the developments in Madha. Shinde has managed to win the ZP election unopposed with the help of BJP. He is considered an arch rival of the Mohite-Patil family. He, however, had expressed loyalty to Sharad Pawar when the veteran leader announced his candidature from Madha.BJP sources said Shinde had a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis . Shinde has emerged as a possible candidate though some leaders said state cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh could also contest from Madha.

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