Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 : Battle for votes in Pune city, district; current scenario and political equations

Pune: The city is not only known as the cultural capital of Maharashtra but also exercises a considerable political clout. Though Mumbai is the capital and Nagpur is the winter capital of the State, most of the political activities take place in Pune.

Several Pune MPs and MLAs from the city have become ministers in the State and Central cabinets. Many of them have put the city on the national map. Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule and Murlidhar Mohol are some of them.

Pune district has political, social, cultural and educational importance. Pune has a great political legacy. The State Assembly elections are around the corner.

Current scenario in the city, district

The Pune Lok Sabha constituency has eight assembly segments: Kasba Peth, Kothrud, Parvati, Shivajinagar, Hadapsar, Cantonment, Khadakwasla and Vadgaon Sheri. The BJP is strong in six of them as they have MLAs from these segments. In Pune district, 10 MLAs belong to the NCP. They have sided with Ajit Pawar after a vertical split in the party. The BJP has eight while the Congress has three MLAs in the district.

In Pune, the Kothrud and Kasba Peth seats have been BJP strongholds for almost three decades. However, Congressman Ravindra Dhangekar won the bypoll from Kasba Peth after the death of BJP MLA Mukta Tilak. Dhangekar’s personal rapport with voters was a game-changing factor. This segment may prove a game changer again.

The list of 21 MLAs and their parties in Pune district

NCP (AP) has 10, BJP 8 and Congress 3 MLAs

Kasba Peth – Ravindra Dhangekar (Congress), Kothrud – Chandrakand Patil (BJP), Parvati – Madhuri Misal (BJP), Pune Cantonment – Dilip Kamble (BJP), Vadgaon Sheri – Sunil Tingre (NCP-AP), Hadapsar – Chetan Tupe (NCP-AP), Khadakwasla – Bhimrao Tapkir (BJP), Shivajinagar – Siddharth Shirole (BJP), Pimpri – Anna Bansode (NCP-AP), Chinchwad – Ashwini Jagtap (BJP), Bhosari – Mahesh Landge (BJP), Maval – Sunil Shelke (NCP-AP), Purandar – Sanjay Jagtap (Congress), Bhor – Sangram Thopte (Congress), Baramati – Ajit Pawar (NCP-AP), Shirur – Ashok Pawar (NCP-AP), Daund – Rahul Kul (BJP), Indapur – Datta Bharne (NCP-AP), Khed-Alandi – Dilip Mohite (NCP-AP), Junnar – Atul Benke (NCP-AP) and Ambegaon –Dilip Walse-Patil (NCP-AP).

Junnar Assembly segment: There were 11 candidates in the fray in 2019. The two main rivals were Atul Benke and Asha Buchke. Benke won.

Ambegaon Assembly seat: Though several candidates contested the poll, NCP’s Dilip Walse-Patil won against his nearest rival Shiv Sena’s Rajaram Bankhele.

Khed-Alandi Assembly constituency: NCP candidate Dilip Mohite Patil defeated his nearest rival Shiv Sena’s Suresh Gore.

Shirur Assembly seat: Traditional rivals Ashok Pawar of NCP and Baburao Pacharne of BJP fought a bitter battle, in which Ashok Pawar won.

Daund Assembly segment: BJP’s Rahul Kul defeated NCP’s Ramesh Thorat with a slender margin.

Indapur Assembly seat: NCP’s Dattatraya Bharne defeated Congress leader and former minister Harshvardhan Patil.

Baramati Assembly constituency: NCP’s Ajit Pawar won with a good margin against BJP’s Gopichand Padalkar of BJP.

Purandar Assembly segment: Congress candidate Sanjay Jagtap won with a good margin against Shiv Sena’s Vijay Shivtare.

Bhor Assembly seat: Congressman Sangram Thopte registered his hat-trick against Shiv Sena’s Kuldip Konde.

Maval Assembly constituency: NCP’s Sunil Shelke defeated BJP’s Bala Bhegade, who was on a hat-trick. There were seven candidates in the fray.

Chinchwad Assembly segment: BJP’s the late MLA Laxman Jagtap’s wife Ashwini won against NCP’s Nana Kate and independent Rahul Khalate in the bypoll.

Pimpri Assembly seat: It is a reserved constituency, where NCP’s Anna Bansode defeated Shiv Sena’s Gautam Chabukswar.

Bhosari Assembly constituency: Right from its conception, an independent was winning here. But Mahesh Landge broke the jinx. He won on the BJP ticket against independent Vilas Lande.

Vadgaon Sheri Assembly constituency: NCP’s Sunil Tingre defeated BJP’s sitting MLA Jagdish Mulik.

Shivajinagar Assembly segment: BJP’s Siddharth Shirole won against Congress candidate Datta Bahirat. It was a maiden fight for both.

Kothrud Assembly seat: BJP candidate Chandrakant Patil won with a good margin against MNS candidate Kishor Shinde.

Khadakwasla Assembly constituency: BJP’s sitting MLA Bhimrao Tapkir won with a thin margin against NCP’s Sachin Dodke.

Parvati Assembly segment: BJP’s Madhuri Misal registered a hat-trick by defeating NCP’s Ashwini Kadam with a good margin.

Hadapsar Assembly seat: NCP’s Chetan Tupe won against BJP’s Yogesh Tilekar with a thin margin.

Cantonment Assembly segment: BJP’s Sunil Kamble defeated Congressman Ramesh Bagve with a slender margin.

Kasba Peth Assembly seat: Ending the dominance of the BJP of almost three decades, Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar snatched the seat in a bypoll against BJP’s Hemant Rasne.

Political upheaval possible in the district

The political scenario is likely to change drastically following splits in two major parties in the State, Shiv Sena and NCP. Surprises are in store in many constituencies in the district as some parties may field new faces. Some sitting MLAs may not get party tickets. The highest number of MLAs are from the NCP. All of them are with Ajit Pawar. However, voters favoured Sharad Pawar faction on two of the four seats in the Lok Sabha polls. Much depends on seat-sharing in the Assembly elections. Sharad Pawar may claim these seats in the MVA while Ajit Pawar would want to field his candidates from the ruling alliance. The picture will be clear after the ticket distribution is over.