Pune: Jagdish Mulik in Wadgaon Sheri, Amol Balwadkar in Kothrud, Shrinath Bhimale in Parvati - How BJP Tackled Disgruntled Leaders While Congress Couldn’t

With the MVA and Mahayuti alliances locked in an intense battle in Pune, the BJP has managed to address its internal strife by calming its rebel leaders like Amol Balwadkar, Jagdish Mulik, Dheeraj Ghate, Shrinath Bhimale, and Ujjwal Keskar, while Congress has struggled to maintain unity in Pune.

Two rebellions managed in Kothrud

In Kothrud, leaders like Amol Balwadkar and Ujjwal Keskar were planning to contest independently after the BJP announced incumbent MLA and minister Chandrakant Patil as the candidate in Kothrud. However, after Devendra Fadnavis intervened, Amol Balwadkar backed down and met Patil, giving his full support to him. This came after IT searches at his brother-in-law Abhijit Katke's house in Wagholi. Keskar, on the other hand, complied after the RSS instructed him to do so.

Wadgaon Sheri and Parvati

In Wadgaon Sheri, the BJP and Ajit Pawar group were prepared for a friendly battle. While Sunil Tingre of the Ajit Pawar faction filed his nomination, the BJP also provided an AB form to Jagdish Mulik. Mulik went to file his nomination but backed out after receiving a call from Devendra Fadnavis. After announcing his decision to withdraw, he received another call in which he was promised a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

In Kasba Peth, BJP president Dheeraj Ghate expressed his displeasure after Hemant Rasane was given the ticket for the second time instead of him. However, at Rasane's nomination rally, Ghate participated wholeheartedly and appealed to everyone to fight for the BJP's victory.

In Parvati, Shrinath Bhimale backed out of the contest in the constituency. On Tuesday, he held a press conference in Pune to announce his decision. Mohol praised him for the work he has been doing and stated that it is natural for a leader to have expectations, but only one person gets the ticket and chance. He acknowledged that it is normal for a leader to feel dissatisfied but commended Bhimale for dealing with it gracefully, emphasizing that workers like him embody the culture of the BJP.

Discontent in Congress

While on the other hand, Congress has failed to deal with the internal strife and leaders like Aba Bagul, Kamal Vyavhare, and Manish Anand have filed their nominations as independent candidates for key seats in the city.

This discontent stems from seat-sharing issues within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

The first woman mayor of Pune, Kamal Vyavhare, will contest from Kasba Assembly constituency, while Manish Anand will run from Shivaji Nagar and Aba Bagul from Parvati Assembly seats. Notably, Kasba and Shivaji Nagar seats were allocated to Congress, with Ravindra Dhangekar and Datta Bahirat as the declared candidates, respectively. Parvati Assembly seat was given to NCP's Ashwini Kadam.

Aba Bagul, who has been a corporator in Pune Municipal Corporation for 40 years, also being in several standing committees and leader of the opposition in the corporation, is as an independent candidate from the Parvati Assembly constituency of Pune city.