Fri Oct 25 19:59:15 UTC 2024: 1. **Samir Bhujbal’s Defection**: Samir Bhujbal, the nephew of Chhagan Bhujbal and the Mumbai district president of Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has defected from the party.
2. **Independent Candidacy**: He plans to contest the upcoming assembly election as an independent candidate from the Nandgaon-Manmad constituency.
3. **Letter to Ajit Pawar**: Samir Bhujbal wrote a letter to Ajit Pawar detailing the deteriorating situation in Nandgaon, expressing the community’s fear and dissatisfaction over the last five years.
4. **Decision to Contest**: He mentioned that local party workers and citizens shared their grievances with him, prompting his decision to run for election to address the escalating demands and the environment of intimidation in the constituency.
5. **Resignation**: Along with announcing his independent candidacy, he submitted his resignation from the post of Mumbai president of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction and requested its acceptance while expressing gratitude for past cooperation.
6. **Next Steps**: Following his resignation, Samir Bhujbal is set to file his nomination papers for the assembly election from Nandgaon.
First Piper 