BJP Announces Candidates for Three Pune City Constituencies, Keeps Two Under Reconsideration
Reported by Tikam Shekhawat
Pune, 20th October 2024: After much speculation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its candidates for three of the eight assembly constituencies in Pune city.
The existing MLAs, including Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil from Kothrud, Madhuri Misal from Parvati, and Siddharth Shirole from Shivajinagar, have been given the party’s ticket for the upcoming elections. However, the party has held back on announcing candidates for the Khadakwasla and Pune Cantonment constituencies, leading to further discussions on candidate reconsideration in these areas.
The BJP currently holds five of the eight constituencies in Pune, including Kothrud, Parvati, Shivajinagar, Pune Cantonment, and Khadakwasla. While it was anticipated that the party would announce candidates for six constituencies, particularly expecting the Kasba Assembly seat to be assigned to BJP, the list released today only covers three constituencies. Party insiders suggest that the BJP is reconsidering its candidates for Khadakwasla, Pune Cantonment, and Kasba.
In the opposition camp, there is growing curiosity about who the Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) will field in these key constituencies. In Kothrud, speculation is rife about the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction’s potential candidates, with former MLA Chandrakant Mokate and Prithviraj Sutar emerging as front-runners. Additionally, all eyes are on former BJP corporator Amol Balwadkar, amid rumors of a possible rebellion within the party.
In Shivajinagar, Congress is reportedly considering Datta Bahirat, Sunny Nimhan, or Manish Anand for the contest, while in Parvati, NCP’s Ashwini Kadam and former Congress corporator Aba Bagul are likely contenders.
