Nashik: The BJP nominee from Jalgaon Lok Sabha constituency, Smita Wagh, on Friday filed her nomination. She was accompanied by senior party leaders of the district.She secured the party mandate replacing sitting MP A T Nana Patil. Smita is presently an MLC.“The rank and file of NDA allies in Jalgaon has already started the campaign to retain the seat,” said Smita’s husband and BJP district president, Uday Wagh.Smita would be locked in a direct electoral battle with NCP’s Gulabrao Deokar, former state minister who filed his nomination papers on Thursday.In the meantime, another sitting MP of the party from Ahmednagar Dilip Gandhi met the party nominee, Sujay Vikhe Patil, for the first time since the latter was given the ticket by the party high command to contest the polls replacing Gandhi.Gandhi was peeved for being denied the ticket. Sujay’s father and senior Congress leader, Radhakrishna had met Gandhi on late Wednesday night to secure his support.“I had an hour-long meeting with Sujay. I told him that he and his campaign managers should not ignore the old party workers who have been working for the party for decades,” said Gandhi, but refused to speculate whether his son, Suvendra, would withdraw from the race.According to Gandhi he has assured Sujay to help him win the polls. Gandhi’s son has announced that he will contest as an independent candidate since his father was denied the ticket by BJP.

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