29 former corporators, including Ajit Gavhane, the Pimpri-Chinchwad city unit chief of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, joined Sharad Pawar's faction on Wednesday. Gavhane had previously expressed his intention to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the Bhosari constituency and stated that if he did not receive a ticket from the NCP, he would align with Sharad Pawar's party. Given that BJP's Mahesh Landge is the incumbent MLA in Bhosari, it is unlikely that Ajit Pawar's party will secure this seat in the seat-sharing arrangement among the Mahayuti partners. However, Gavhane's shift to senior Pawar's party has caused unrest among the leaders of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena in Bhosari.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders in Bhosari are scheduled to meet Thackeray at his residence, Matoshree, in Mumbai. They intend to express their displeasure that Gavhane, who worked against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the recent Lok Sabha elections, is now likely to receive a ticket from NCP (SP). The Bhosari Assembly constituency is part of the Shirur Lok Sabha seat, where NCP (SP) leader Amol Kolhe contested against NCP's Shivajirao Adhalrao. Gavhane, then with Ajit Pawar's party, had worked against Kolhe, who ultimately won by a comfortable margin.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders will also urge Thackeray to demand the Bhosari seat in the seat-sharing talks among the MVA partners. They will insist that a loyal MVA candidate should contest from this seat.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sachin Ahir stated that the concerns of Thackeray's group regarding the Bhosari Assembly issue have been resolved. Workers have expressed their willingness to support any candidate chosen by the MVA, Ahir added.
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Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, is expected to address party workers in Pune on August 3 and kick off the party's campaign in the city. It remains unclear how many seats his party will contest in Pune, as there are currently no Shiv Sena MLAs in Pune or Pimpri-Chinchwad.
