Mumbai:

The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has stayed the appointment of Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, to any post in the party in Jalna district.

Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Shrikant Pangarkar joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar.

Arjun Khotkar earlier said that Shrikant Pangarkar, a former Shiv Sainik, has returned to the party and has been nominated as the chief of the Jalna assembly poll campaign.

A statement from the Shiv Sena on Sunday said that if Shrikant Pangarkar has been given any party post in Jalna district, the decision has been stayed.

Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Karnataka capital Bengaluru on September 5, 2017.

A probe by police in Karnataka with assistance from agencies in Maharashtra had led to the arrest of several persons.

Shrikant Pangarkar, a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001and 2006, was arrested in August 2018 and was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on September 4 this year.

After Shrikant Pangarkar was denied a ticket by the Shiv Sena in 2011, he joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti.

Arjun Khotkar earlier said he wants to contest the assembly poll from Jalna, but added that seat-sharing discussions in the Mahayuti (ruling alliance comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP) were underway.

The seat is held by Congress’ Kailash Gorantyal.

The Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

One of the key suspects in Narendra Dabholkar murder case, former Shiv Sena corporator from Jalna Shrikant Pangarkar.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement.

Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, which outraged the nation, joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Jalna ahead of assembly polls.

Ms. Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Karnataka capital Bengaluru on September 5, 2017.

A probe by police in Karnataka with assistance from agencies in Maharashtra led to the arrest of several persons.

Pangarkar, a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001 and 2006, was arrested in August 2018 and was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on September 4 this year.

After he was denied a ticket by the Shiv Sena in 2011, Pangarkar joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti.

He joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former State Minister Arjun Khotkar.

“Pangarkar is a former Shiv Sainik and has returned to the party. He has been nominated as the chief of the Jalna assembly poll campaign,” Mr. Khotkar told reporters.

Mr. Khotkar also said he wants to contest the assembly poll from Jalna, but added seat sharing discussions in the Mahayuti (ruling alliance comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP) were still underway.

The seat is held by Congress’ Kailash Gorantyal.

Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23. The term of the current assembly ends on November 26.