Jalna: An accused in the high-profile murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh is set to contest the Jalna Municipal Corporation elections in Maharashtra on 15 January as an independent candidate.

Shrikant Pangarkar is standing from Ward 13, facing opponents from the BJP and other parties, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has not fielded a candidate. Pangarkar had joined the Shiv Sena ahead of the November 2024 assembly elections, but following public outcry, the party deferred his induction.

Lankesh was shot dead outside her Bengaluru residence on 5 September 2017, in a case that sparked nationwide debate over liberalism, secularism and communalism amid India’s evolving political landscape.

Pangarkar previously served on the Jalna municipal council as a Shiv Sena member from 2001 to 2006. After being denied a ticket in 2011, he joined the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. In August 2018, he was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad following the seizure of crude bombs and weapons across the state, and was charged under the Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

He was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on 4 September 2024 in connection with the Lankesh murder case.

(PTI)