As soon as the BJP announced Hemant Rasane as its official candidate for the Kasba Assembly constituency in Pune, BJP city president Dheeraj Ghate, who was also in the race for the ticket, took to social media to express his dissatisfaction.
Taking to X, on a saffron background, he posted, "You want a Hindutvavadi government but don't want a candidate who has worked for Hindus for 30 years."
Rasane wins the race
For the uninitiated, the BJP on Saturday announced Rasane as its official candidate to fight against Congress' Ravindra Dhangekar. BJP city president Dheeraj Ghate, former Chairman of the Standing Committee Kunal Tilak, the son of the late MLA Mukta Tilak, and Swarda Bapat, the daughter-in-law of the late MP Girish Bapat, were all in the race for the seat.
While discussions in the political circles of the town weighed against Ghate, Rasane has already lost in the last bypoll against Dhangekar.
The seat, once considered a prestigious bastion for the BJP, saw a shift in the last bypoll when Congress' Ravindra Dhangekar defeated BJP's Hemant Rasane. This was the first time since 1995 that Congress has won the seat. The Kasba bypoll was a matter of prestige for the BJP, bringing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and a host of other top ministers and leaders to campaign for Rasane. Dhangekar received 72,599 votes, while Rasane got 61,771 votes.
In the Pune Lok Sabha polls, Dhangekar lost to BJP's Murlidhar Mohol, with the Kasba assembly segment providing a lead of 14,483 votes to Mohol. In this segment, Mohol secured 87,565 votes, while Dhangekar garnered 73,082 votes.
