Speculation is rife that Nana Kate, who is currently with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), may soon join the faction led by Sharad Pawar to contest the upcoming state elections from the Chinchwad Assembly seat. However, Kate has dismissed these speculations.
“It is a fact that I am keen to contest the Assembly polls from Chinchwad and I am going ahead as planned. There is speculation that I am being approached by the NCP (SP). However, there is no truth in this so far,” Kate said.
Given that the NCP will be contesting the polls in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, it will be very difficult for the Ajit Pawar faction to get the Chinchwad seat during the seat-sharing talks, as the incumbent MLA is from the saffron party. Kate then will be left with two options: either to contest as an independent candidate or join NCP (SP) to secure a ticket.
Laxman Jagtap held the Chinchwad seat from 2009. However, after his passing in 2023, a bypoll was held and his wife Ashwini Jagtap was nominated by the BJP. Kate fought against her but faced a defeat. However, the Jagtap family is now a house divided with Ashwini Jagtap's brother-in-law and BJP's Pimpri-Chinchwad chief Shankar Jagtap also eyeing the Chinchwad Assembly seat.
Recently, BJP MLC Pankaja Munde visited Chinchwad and said a call will soon be taken on whether to field Ashwini Jagtap or any other candidate. "Even if there are many aspirants, the core committee has enough experience in selecting the right candidate. It will not be tough for the party leadership,” she added.
