Ahead of bypolls, BJP, Cong show party strength in Pune

In the run-up to the crucial bye-elections to two Assembly seats, the BJP and Congress staged a massive show of strength in Maharashtra’s cultural capital of Pune on Monday even as the battle of votes in Kasba Peth turned interesting while confusion remains in Chinchwad where the NCP is yet to declare its candidate.

The last date for filing of nominations is Tuesday while the last date for withdrawal is Friday - and the voting is scheduled on 26 February.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising - NCP, Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led group of Shiv Sena - has decided to contest both seats.

Though the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-led BSS-BJP alliance are still making efforts to ensure that the elections are unopposed.

The bye-elections have been necessitated following the death of BJP MLAs - Mukta Tilak and Laxman Jagtap, who represented the Kasba Peth and Chinchwad, respectively.

Late Jagtap’s wife Ashwini Jagtap, the BJP candidate, filed nominations from Chinchwad, while his brother Shankar Jagtap is the dummy candidate.

The NCP, which is likely to contest the Chinchwad seat, has not yet decided the candidate.

The BJP has fielded Hemant Rasane from the Kasba Peth and Ashwini Jagtap, the wife of late Laxman Jagtap from Chinchwad - and both of them filed their nominations. Rasane is a three-time corporator of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and was elected in 2002, 2012 and 2017 and had served as Chairman of PMC Standing Committee for four years.

The BJP, however, did not name anyone from the Tilak family - as late Mukta Tilak’s husband and son Kunal Tilak were keen to contest. Mukta Tilak was the great-granddaughter-in-law of the legendary nationalist and revolutionary leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

The Tilak family is upset that they have been denied a nomination.

State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil were present when Rasane filed his papers.

The Congress nominated Dhangekar is a three-time corporator in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) from Kasba Peth - who too filed his papers in presence of state Congress President Nana Patole and two former Chief Ministers - Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde.

In fact, Dhangekar met the Tilak family on Monday morning to seek their support, paid tributes to Mukta Tilak and headed to file his papers.

Bawankule and Patil said they are willing to field someone from the Tilak family if Congress withdraws. “We have asked them to clarify their stand… If they are agreeable to unopposed elections, we can field someone from the Tilak family,” both Bawankule and Patil assured.

However, Patole said that the MVA has decided to contest both seats and the BJP has not fielded anyone from the Tilak family. “The question does not arise now,” he said.