BJP secretly working against NCP (AP) in Maval; Pvana pipeline firing issue being raked up against MLA Sunil Shelke
Pimpri: It is said that there is a tussle within the Maha Yuti in the Maval Assembly constituency. The BJP has started a secret whisper campaign against the NCP (AP).
Three farmers were killed in the shooting on farmers agitating against the closed pipeline project in 2011. The BJP is purportedly campaigning that the firing was done at the behest of the then DyCM Ajit Pawar. This has resulted in a rift between the two parties.
Three farmers were killed in the firing opened by the police against the farmers who were protesting the Pavana closed water pipeline from the dam to Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Maval BJP is not comfortable with this past incident. Since the BJP cannot criticise Ajit Pawar openly, they are working against him on the sly.
Though the tussle is between the BJP and NCP (AP) MLA Sunil Shelke, the Pavana closed water pipeline has become the immediate pretext of the BJP’s campaign. This has put the NCP (AP) in a tight spot.
Water needs of Pimpri-Chinchwad were growing with the increasing population. Therefore, the PCMC prepared a plan to bring water from the Pavana dam in a closed water pipeline to the water treatment centre in Nigdi under the Centr’s JNNURM.
Farmers from the Maval area opposed this plan. However, land acquisition for the project began on August 9, 2011. Farmers launched an agitation, during which riots ensued and three farmers were killed in the resultant police firing.
Later, the State Government stayed the plan due to growing discontent against it on August 10, 2011. The then BJP-Shiv Sena alliance alleged Ajit Pawar’s hand in the police firing. The issue was politicised and people were not happy with the NCP, which lost power in the PCMC. Ajit Pawar’s son was defeated in the Maval Lok Sabha constituency and the party was defeated in the Pimpri Assembly segment in 2014.
The closed water pipeline project remained shut from 2011. However, it was revived after Ajit Pawar joined the Maha Yuti government. The stay on it was lifted on September 8, 2023. The work has not yet started even after a year.
Now, the Maval firing issue has once again cropped up ahead of the State Assembly polls. The then BJP leader Sunil Shelke is now with the NCP (AP). He has sharp differences with the BJP. The Maval BJP has resolved to not campaign for Shelke.
BJP workers are visiting villages and campaigning against Ajit Pawar and the NCP (AP) over the Maval firing issue. The party is provoking its workers against the NCP (AP) and creating confusion in their minds, alleged Sunil Shelke. However, the BJP has not reacted to his allegations. Thus, the Maval firing issue has become problematic for Shelke even though the BJP is a part of the alliance.
Challenge before MLA Sunil Shelke
BJP former MLA Bala Bhegde is also an aspirant for the State polls from Maval. BJP Assembly segment chief Ravindra Bhegde is another aspirant and has raised banners declaring that he ‘followed the party command till date. But now, there will be no going back’. NCP (AP) leader Bapusaheb Bhegde is yet another aspirant and could prove a headache for Shelke. Thus, the sitting MLA is facing multiple challenges.
