Pune Assembly bypolls: BJP, Cong candidates file nominations

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Hemant Rasne and Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar filed their nomination papers on Monday for the upcoming byelection to Kasba Peth Assembly seat in Maharashtra's Pune district.

Besides, Ashwini Jagtap, wife of late BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, filed her nomination for the bypoll to Chinchwad Assembly seat in Pune. Notably, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said he had requested Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar and Congress leaders to honour the political tradition in the state to ensure unopposed bypolls to the seats that fall vacant due to the death of sitting lawmakers.

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The byelections to Kasba Peth and Chinchwad constituencies, scheduled for February 26, have been necessitated due to the death of MLAs Mukta Tilak and Laxman Jagtap, respectively. Both of them belonged to the BJP. The results of these bypolls will be declared on March 2. On Monday, Rasne filed his nomination in the presence of state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil, who is also the guardian minister of Pune.

Congress candidate Dhangekar filed his nominations in the presence of state party president Nana Patole, senior leader Ashok Chavan, Mohan Joshi as well as leaders from the NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena camp.