Even as an agreement evades the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on three Lok Sabha seats, all the major political players face a dilemma over the choice of candidates for the four constituencies in Pune district.
The issue is particularly magnified for Congress and NCP as both face a paucity of strong candidates for the Pune, Shirur and Maval LS constituencies. The fourth LS seat in Pune district, Baramati — the bastion of the Pawar clan — is held by NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule.
The 2014 general election saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sena oust the Congress and NCP in Pune district. While BJP’s Anil Shirole won the Pune LS seat, the Sena bagged the Shirur and Maval seats.
Even Ms. Sule faced a tough fight in Baramati by Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) chief Mahadev Jankar, now a BJP ally.
The Sena has strong candidates in Shirur and Maval. While Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil is a two-time MP from Shirur, Shrirang Barne is the current MP from Maval.
In a bid to break Sena’s stranglehold over the rural pockets in these two constituencies, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar last week offered himself as a possible candidate.
Battle for Shirur
“If Pawar saheb (NCP chief Sharad Pawar) consents, and the party agrees, then I am ready to contest from Shirur. In such an eventuality, I am confident of winning,” Mr. Ajit Pawar had said, issuing an open challenge to Mr. Adhalrao Patil.
Likewise, there is strong speculation of the ‘third generation’ of the Pawar clan being fielded from Maval.
Parth Pawar, Mr. Ajit Pawar’s son, and Sharad Pawar’s grandson, is being floated as a possible candidate to challenge Mr. Barne.
NCP sources aver that while Parth may be a political newcomer, the entry of a member of the Pawar family will help revive the sagging morale of the party.
According to a political observer, the real contest in Shirur and Maval is between ‘allies’ BJP and Sena.
“Laxman Jagtap of BJP, who heads the party’s Pimpri-Chinchwad unit, is looking to avenge his defeat at the hands of Mr. Barne in 2014. As prospects of an alliance between the two parties look extremely bleak, Sena may be in for a tough fight against BJP,” he said.
Major threat
The BJP will be a major threat to the Sena in Shirur and Maval as in the October 2014 Assembly election it won three of the six Assembly seats in the Maval LS constituency.
It also won the Pimrpi-Chinchwad civic body by a landslide, further strengthening Mr. Jagtap’s hand in these two LS seats.
In the event the NCP concedes the Pune LS to Congress, the party will have to scratch heads for suitable candidates particularly after two-time MP and senior leader Suresh Kalmadi slid into political oblivion.
‘BJP fading in Pune’
However, in view of the BJP’s recent poll debacle in three States, city Congress leaders claim the ruling party’s power in Pune is fading and the Congress had stronger support.
“After the 2014 Parliamentary election, the BJP swept all eight Assembly segments in Pune city and won the crucial Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls. Yet, despite having a hundred corporators in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), eight MLAs and an MP, the party is riven with factionalism,” said senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi.
“The PMC led by the BJP has proven utterly incompetent in catering to the needs of a growing city. Even today, streets in the city are being flooded as a result of the ruling party’s failure to manage water resources,” Mr. Joshi said, adding that key civic problems like water management would play a vital role in the fight for the Pune LS constituency.
