Pune: Shiv Sena (UBT) Loyalist Chandrakant Mokate to Contest in Kothrud
Kothrud, 27th October 2024: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) has fielded former MLA Chandrakant Mokate as its candidate from the Kothrud assembly constituency, quelling speculation that former BJP corporator Amol Balavadkar would contest. With this announcement, Kothrud is set for a three-way contest between BJP’s Chandrakant Patil, Shiv Sena’s Chandrakant Mokate, and MNS’s Kishore Shinde.
The BJP had already declared Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil as its candidate for the Kothrud seat. For the Shiv Sena, former party leader Prithviraj Sutar and Mokate were both in the running. Over the past few days, there were talks that Balavadkar, after being denied a BJP nomination, would join Shiv Sena and be its candidate. However, Uddhav Thackeray surprised many by officially announcing Mokate’s candidacy today after he received the AB form at Matoshree.
Chandrakant Mokate, a seasoned politician, has been a corporator from the Kothrud Gavthan area and has served as the Deputy Mayor of Pune Municipal Corporation. From 2009 to 2014, he represented Kothrud as an MLA. In the 2014 elections, he lost to BJP’s Medha Kulkarni and chose not to contest in 2019. With the upcoming 2024 elections, Mokate returns to the political fray, poised for a heated contest in Kothrud.
