It also allows Patel to skip a straight fight with his erstwhile Congress colleague Shrikant Jichkar in Bhandara. Jichkar, scholar and former minister in the State cabinet, was nominated largely to counter Patel's, and therefore NCP's, direct influence in Bhandara. This will be Nimbarte's first election but party leaders say it's likely to be a proxy battle-of-wits between Patel and Jichkar.For the NCP, Vidarbha poses the toughest challenge with even party leaders acknowledging that it remains the weakest region in terms of their strength and presence in the State. The strategy is to pick up the maximum number of seats in as many areas of Vidarbha as possible. Patel is slated to play a major role in ensuring that NCP does not allow the Congress to stream ahead; while parts of Vidarbha are Congress bastions, others have been claimed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.