RPI to contest election on BJP's symbol: Ramdas Athawale

Mumbai: While the other smaller allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are reluctant to contest election on lotus symbol, the Republican Party of India (RPI) has ceded to the saffron party’s demand. The Ramdas Athawale-led party will contest the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha polls on the BJP’s symbol.

The BJP has been insisting its smaller allies that they should contest the Assembly polls on lotus symbol. However, there was no positive response from other parties.

Mr Athawale said that his party has been allotted six seats and they stand a good chance of winning all of them. Hence they do not want to spoil their chances by contesting on any other symbol.

Mr Athawale, who is a Union minister of state for social justice, said, “We had asked the Election Commission to allot us the symbol of an open book, but instead we were given the symbol of a computer. As very few days are left for campaigning, the party workers felt that it will not be possible to take the new symbol to people in such a short span of time. Hence, we have decided to contest on BJP’s symbol only.”

The RPI, which is also an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has fielded Chhota Rajan’s brother Deepak Nikalje from Phaltan Assembly seat.

While announcing the candidates’ names for the election, Ramdas Athawale said that the party will contest Phaltan in Satara, Malshiras in Solapur, Bhandara, Naigaon in Nanded; Pathri in Parbhani, and Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai.