Maharashtra Elections: BJP Names Hemant Rasane for Kasba Peth, Bhimrao Tapkir for Khadakwasla and Sunil Kamble for Pune Cantonment Seat
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pune, 26th October 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced 22 new candidates in its second list for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, including three candidates from Pune. Notably, among those selected is ‘migrant’ political leader Gopichand Padalkar.
In Pune’s Kasba Peth constituency, a traditional BJP stronghold, Hemant Rasane, former chairman of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee, has been named the candidate. Rasane’s nomination faced significant opposition from BJP Pune City President Dheeraj Ghate, who was lobbying for the seat himself. Campaigning saw tensions rise, with visible taunts exchanged between Rasane and Ghate. However, Ghate has been sidelined, and Rasane, a former MLA, has once again earned the party’s trust.
Additionally, BJP has announced sitting MLA Bhimrao Tapkir as its candidate for the Khadakwasla constituency. In Pune Cantonment, sitting MLA Sunil Dnyandev Kamble will represent the BJP. With these new nominations, BJP will be contesting six constituencies in Pune city, including Kothrud with sitting MLA Chandrakant Patil, Shivajinagar with sitting MLA Siddharth Shirole, and Parvati with sitting MLA Madhuri Misal.
Rasane Retains Trust Despite By-election Defeat
Hemant Rasane had previously contested the Kasba by-elections last January, following the passing of then-MLA Mukta Tilak. Despite BJP’s stronghold, Rasane lost to Congress’s Ravindra Dhangekar, marking the first non-BJP MLA in the constituency in 30 years. Although Dhangekar was unable to secure a lead in Kasba Peth during the Pune Lok Sabha elections, where he lost to BJP’s Murlidhar Mohol, he remains a formidable opponent. Rasane now faces the challenge of overturning recent electoral trends in his favor.
‘Migrant’ Leader Gopichand Padalkar to Contest from Jat
Gopichand Padalkar, who ran for BJP last year against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Baramati, will now contest from his native Jat constituency in Sangli district. Padalkar had previously run as an independent candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Sangli but lost to BJP’s Sanjay Patil before eventually joining the BJP. He has now been entrusted with the task of challenging sitting MLA Vikram Singh Sawant of the Congress in Jat.
