Mumbai, March 3 (IANS): The Nationalist Congress Party Monday nominated state minister Suresh Dhas to contest the Beed Lok Sabha constituency, held by BJP's Gopinath Munde, a party spokesperson said.

The name of Dhas, the minister of state for revenue and rehabilitation since June 2013 in the Congress-NCP coalition government, was formally approved after a party meeting at its headquarters here, said spokesperson Nawab Malik.

Dhas will be pitted against Munde, the Bharatiya Janata Party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, and well known Marathi actor-filmmaker Nandu Madhav, contesting on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket.

Beed is one of the key constituencies where the AAP has entered the fray as it puts up candidates against many prominent leaders around the state.

Dhas is no stranger to Beed district, having been elected on a BJP ticket from Ashti assembly segment in 1999 and 2004. Later, he joined the NCP and was re-elected from there in the 2009 assembly elections.

AAP's Madhav has awesome credentials as an actor and film-maker, having starred in the acclaimed Marathi movie "Harishchandrachi Factory" which bagged the National Award for Best Film in Marathi in 2008 and was India's official entry to the Oscars in 2009.